What Should Celebrity Do With Michael's Club (poll)?

[QShip]

On a prior cruise on Summit Michael's Club was a piano bar and it was deserted. We just returned from a New England leaf cruise on Summit on which Michael's Club was designated as a private lounge for suite passengers, and once again it was mostly deserted, though it was staffed much of the time.

 

Based upon my admittedly limited experience it appears the space could be better utilized, both for passenger benefit and for possible revenue from the sale of alcohol.

 

What should Celebrity do with the space?

[caladezi]

Where's the poll?

[thebutlerdidit]

I think it's to remain a dedicated suites lounge. I don't see that changing any time soon, especially since the suite benefits were not even promised to begin until next April. Kudos to them for being ahead of schedule on the suites lounge.

 

If it was underutilized in the past, can you really say that the space is needed for something other than a private lounge for the suites? People seem happy to congregate in the more open areas of the ships.

[thebutlerdidit]

Where's the poll?

 

I think we're supposed to offer up suggestions. My suggestion is to have it remain a private lounge for suite guests.

[Orator]

Remain as it is. It is not currently designed as direct revenue producing venue. Since it ended life as a Cigar Bar, it has failed every attempt to produce revenue. It is now part of a business plan to attract passengers who are willing to spend more for a top suite. Thus, it gives something special at a higher margin price. That's how they make the money for the space. Celebrity is not the first to do this, they are simply following a trend. My guess is that if even half of the people who now mourn its passing as a revenue area actually spent money there, it wouldn't have been changes.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I'm not seeing a poll.

 

I think the current iteration of Michael's Club works just fine. I don't see Celebrity making any changes since what is currently there (a lounge for upper suites & Zenith cruisers) is a very recent change.

[K.T.B.]

I see the poll, and I voted.

 

Make it primarily a sports bar, especially during those times when there are playoffs of some sort happening.

[I-Cruiser]

Keep it as a private lounge for Suites and Zenith members.

I love the fact that its not crowded and serves as a welcoming quiet retreat.

IMO its the best desition X has done in years.

[Lsimon]

I think it will remain a dedicated lounge for suite passengers for the foreseeable future as that decision has recently been made and well publicized by Celebrity. As a result a lot of suite passengers are probably relying on that. Unfortunately we're not one of them.

 

Celebrity has frequently come up with creative ideas to better utilize Michael's club but unfortunately has not executed them well.

 

The original Micheal's club concept was as a cigar bar. By the time we started sailing Celebrity this had been phased out due to the decreasing popularity of smoking.

 

Next, around the time we started sailing Celebrity (around 2004), Micheal's club was a entertainment based night club. In the early evening there would generally be a piano player playing old standards or more contemporary music who generally switched to a more contemporary theme late in the evening. Sometimes they'd even have nice rock/soft rock acoustic guitar there. I'm guessing that during this time Perry Grant started becoming popular on certain ships with his unique style of entertainment. Over the next few years Celebrity started cutting back on entertainment and cut back on the entertainment in most of the ships' Micheal's clubs. With the exception of Perry Grant (then on the Constellation) the activity in Micheal's club waned and even Perry was moved to a larger lounge when he was switched from the Constellation to the Eclipse. It is very unfortunate that Celebrity never followed through on keeping quality entertainers in Micheal's clubs in order to attract more customers to them.

 

Around 2009 Celebrity revised their Captain's Club benefits and introduced the "Captain's Club Social Hour" for Elite level loyalty club members - also known here on Cruise Critic as the Elite Free Drink Event or something like that. This was initially held in Micheal's club on the various ships from 4 to 6PM or 5 to 7PM. Being closed to other passengers during this time period probably decreased the popularity and other utilization of the lounge as non-Elite level cruisers were not allowed during this time frame and no entertainers were scheduled for the lounges before dinner any longer.

 

In hopes of increasing the utilization, in 2010, Celebrity announced the "enhancement" of Micheal's clubs "across the fleet": Click here for flyer from 2010 or here for press release mentioning the enhancements.

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/12027595_CEL_MichaelsClub_Enancements_Flyer.pdf

This was to include a wide selection of craft beers, sporting events on widescreen TV (ironically one of the suggestions in the poll above), gourmet snacks, contemporary music in the daytime and live guitar in the evenings. While some of these aspects were followed through on some of the ships, others were never enhanced, the Clubs seldom had live music and were generally closed until the evening or very late afternoon. So these plans too were never followed through and as a result the Clubs remained "underutilized".

 

My Vote:

I wouldn't vote for any of the choices in the poll. While I do not think Celebrity will change away from the Suite/VIP lounge in the near future, I would have loved to have seen Micheal's club returned to an entertainment lounge with good quality entertainment. The last time we sailed on Princess (9 years ago) the busiest entertainment lounge on board was the piano bar that had a fantastic piano bar player. Likewise, despite the fact that I personally do not enjoy Perry Grant's musical style his performances in Micheal's Club were always attracted a big crowd. And on those cruises where there is a good quality guitar singer the lounges they play in are frequently busy. All this goes to show that when a lounge consistently has great entertainment it will attract patrons.

Edited October 21, 2014 by Lsimon

[Orator]

I think it will remain a dedicated lounge for suite passengers for the foreseeable future as that decision has recently been made and well publicized by Celebrity. As a result a lot of suite passengers are probably relying on that. Unfortunately we're not one of them.

 

Celebrity has frequently come up with creative ideas to better utilize Michael's club but unfortunately has not executed them well.

 

The original Micheal's club concept was as a cigar bar. By the time we started sailing Celebrity this had been phased out due to the decreasing popularity of smoking.

 

Next, around the time we started sailing Celebrity (around 2004), Micheal's club was a entertainment based night club. In the early evening there would generally be a piano player playing old standards or more contemporary music who generally switched to a more contemporary theme late in the evening. Sometimes they'd even have nice rock/soft rock acoustic guitar there. I'm guessing that during this time Perry Grant started becoming popular on certain ships with his unique style of entertainment. Over the next few years Celebrity started cutting back on entertainment and cut back on the entertainment in most of the ships' Micheal's clubs. With the exception of Perry Grant (then on the Constellation) the activity in Micheal's club waned and even Perry was moved to a larger lounge when he was switched from the Constellation to the Eclipse. It is very unfortunate that Celebrity never followed through on keeping quality entertainers in Micheal's clubs in order to attract more customers to them.

 

Around 2009 Celebrity revised their Captain's Club benefits and introduced the "Captain's Club Social Hour" for Elite level loyalty club members - also known here on Cruise Critic as the Elite Free Drink Event or something like that. This was initially held in Micheal's club on the various ships from 4 to 6PM or 5 to 7PM. Being closed to other passengers during this time period probably decreased the popularity and other utilization of the lounge as non-Elite level cruisers were not allowed during this time frame and no entertainers were scheduled for the lounges before dinner any longer.

 

In hopes of increasing the utilization, in 2010, Celebrity announced the "enhancement" of Micheal's clubs "across the fleet":

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/12027595_CEL_MichaelsClub_Enancements_Flyer.pdf

This was to include a wide selection of craft beers, sporting events on widescreen TV, snacks including caramel corn & gourmet potato chips, contemporary music in the daytime and live guitar in the evenings. While some of these aspects were followed through on some of the ships, others were never enhanced, the Clubs seldom had live music and were generally closed until the evening or very late afternoon. So these plans too were never followed through and as a result the Clubs remained "underutilized".

 

Excellent summary! Perhaps Celebrity failed in execution as you say, but there were other contributory factors as well. The new smoking policy conflicted with the Cigar Lounge so bye, bye cigar lounge. Entertainment like Perry Grant et al was tried, but people went for the music and did not purchase enough drinks to cover the cost. Toward the end Perry urged his fans to purchase more drinks. They made a weak attempt at a Sports Bar, but it failed to take hold since their feeds were limited. My guess is that this thread will go something like this: You'll like the status quo if you are in the group that can use Michael's Club. You will object to the status quo if you cannot use Michael's Club. Self interest as in many things will play a role in one's position. For Celebrity it's about money. It will remain as it is now if Celebrity continues to believe that as a private lounge it will attract their target market customer. That appears to be the case at this time.

Edited October 21, 2014 by Orator

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

Sorry to say it, but IMO, this discussion is pointless. Celebrity has made their decision, and the response from Zeniths and Suite guests is excellent. FWIW, I miss visiting Michaels Club, but I'm over it. As Orator mentioned, it's about the money, and it's hard to find fault with Celebrity for wanting to attain maximum profits.

 

Hopefully, when Celebrity builds new ships, they will create both a Michaels Club and a venue for Zeniths. Until such time, I'd be shocked if anything changes.

Edited October 21, 2014 by Host Andy

[wallie5446]

Andy is correct.

 

My other 2 cents:D

 

There is a room to play cards in already that is empty most of the time. Folks like to be out in the light. There are threads with people complaining about others taking uo the tables in the Oceanview to play cards, remember!

 

Michaels was functioning as a sports bar when we were on the Reflection last Nov, again, except for the 2 times when there were NFL games on, again, empty.

 

There will never be anyway for every space to be everything to all of us, well, except the gangway!:eek: We all have to get and off the same way:D

[hulamoon]

If the discussion is about more space for passengers...I would like to see the sky lounge opened more frequently. On our last couple of cruises it seemed closed frequently without events. Maybe they were isolated incidents.

[chessbriar]

I'd like to see Elite plus members added to the short list.

[QShip]

My preference would be to make it a sports bar, I understand that was done once before, but not well. Was there just one large screen? It seems to me the only way to make a sports bar successful onboard would to have several screens so fans of different sports can all be accommodated at the same time.

 

Also, if the cabin tv is any indication, it appears that ships have difficulty obtaining and maintaining multiple feeds, which would obviously impact the popularlity of such a venue. Is this in fact a problem?

[Orator]

My preference would be to make it a sports bar, I understand that was done once before, but not well. Was there just one large screen? It seems to me the only way to make a sports bar successful onboard would to have several screens so fans of different sports can all be accommodated at the same time.

 

Also, if the cabin tv is any indication, it appears that ships have difficulty obtaining and maintaining multiple feeds, which would obviously impact the popularlity of such a venue. Is this in fact a problem?

 

A BIG problem since the ship is often at sea and on satellite feed. I really wonder how many who are posting have actually been in Michael's Club. The size and layout are different on the S Class and M Class. Of course you could always expand the venue by taking down a wall and adding space from Murano.Lots of logistical problems with poll choices and some of the responses offered. Everyone has an opinion and that's fine. Just that suggestions must be workable and practical. Andy is correct in observing that this discussion although interesting, won't change anything.

[rbuenger]

DW and I loved having Michaels Club as a Suite Lounge on our Silhouette Cruise this past August, a great addition to the Suite Benefits!

[flyingv4me]

I'm nowhere near becoming Zenith and don't sail in upper suites. That being said, I think that Michaels should stay an upper suite and Zenith lounge.

 

I also think that Celebrity should proceed with adding the gastropub to all of their ships, or at least all of the S-class. I would love to see this concept brought fleet-wide. Good beer and wine, tapas, and hopefully a more festive atmosphere. Win!

[Officer Dibble]

I can honestly say that in 3 cruises I have never seen anyone in Michael's club! In my opinion it is a complete waste of space. Why not turn it into a suite restaurant?

 

OD

[Orator]

I can honestly say that in 3 cruises I have never seen anyone in Michael's club! In my opinion it is a complete waste of space. Why not turn it into a suite restaurant?

 

OD

 

Answer:

They are already building a new Suite restaurant using space from Select dining. To open April, 2015.

[cruiserone]

I jut need to put my 2 cents in. Sailing a SS is our preference it is considered to be a "Suite" and is called a "Suite" but we cannot use Michael's. BUT when the new dining venue is opened in April we will be considered a "Suite" and be able to use the dining room. Totally confusing. Since Michael's is almost always empty why not admit Elite + and Sky Suite people?

 

Happy Sailing all!!! Enjoy every minute!!!!

[Number34]

We had access to Michaels Club on Infinity in August. It was nearly always empty and seemed to be underused. We did like being able to get a quick continental breakfast or have a quiet drink and the Nespreso coffee was good but we preferred Al Bacio. It was also the place to meet the concierge but it had no ambience and is not a good use of the space or the staff.

It might suit a sports bar as it was quite enclosed and dark.

[Sloop-JohnB]

Hi Everyone,

 

Sorry to say it, but IMO, this discussion is pointless. Celebrity has made their decision, and the response from Zeniths and Suite guests is excellent. FWIW, I miss visiting Michaels Club, but I'm over it. As Orator mentioned, it's about the money, and it's hard to find fault with Celebrity for wanting to attain maximum profits.

 

Hopefully, when Celebrity builds new ships, they will create both a Michaels Club and a venue for Zeniths. Until such time, I'd be shocked if anything changes.

 

Agree with HOST ANDY this is not about to change again anytime soon. And thanks to LSIMON for the excelkent timeline.

 

I am certainly ok with the status quo for now... And that is how I voted -- Leave it as a Private Lounge for Suite Passengers.

 

Our first Celebrity Cruise (Solstice 2012) Michaels Club was used as the Elite Happy Hour Spot... And the rest the day / evening it was not clear what it was (or wanted to be). Sometimes there was Entertainment in there, other times it was the most deserted spot on the whole GORGEOUS ship.

 

Second Cruise (Summit 2013) it was now the Sports Bar / Craft Beer Bar... This was great. Seemed to be really popular with many Pax, including Mr Sloop... It was also Football Playoff Season... The place was hopping.

 

I don't mind it turning into the Suite Lounge (similar in my mind to the old Elite & Above) concept... But we will miss the Sports Bar / Craft Beer Bar

 

Hopefully Celebrity will figure this out, cause I think they were on to a cool / popular concept there for awhile... Maybe they can see this as something Pax want and roll out the transition / refurb of CelarMasters to the GastroBar plans sooner... Which I see as a very good idea (tho as wine drinkers we will miss CelarMasters)... Still not clear tho how the GastroBaridea will work on the M-Class Ships where CellarMasters isn't currently in an enclosed spot with walls, but more of an extra wide hallway type area.

 

GastroPubs are right on point... They are very popular on land these days (just like Wine Bars were when Celebrity first introduced CellarMasters back in 2008)

 

Like others... I have to admit I am looking forward to news at some point in time regarding new ships coming online

 

Cheers!

Edited October 21, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB

[wallie5446]

.

 

Still not clear tho how the GastroBar idea will work on the M-Class Ships where CellarMasters isn't currently in an enclosed spot with walls, but more of an extra wide hallway type area.

 

Cheers!

 

In the pictures we have seen of the GastroBar on Equinox, they took the wall's out and opened it up to the walk way. So it may work well on the M-Class.

[Seabourn Pearls]

I'm amused. When Michaels Club was open to anybody nobody wanted to go. Now they restrict it to suite guests and call it a perk.