Im sad to say, but Im on my way, Goodbye Celebrity.

[medtech71]

Perhaps the reason cruises were cheaper 3-7 years ago was fall out from the 2008 economic/housing debacle you may have heard about? Where unemployment was double the current rate? There is no intrinsic value of a cruise.....a cruise is worth what people are willing to pay at that time.

[Ontario Cruiser]

Good luck with Viking. If you are looking for up sale why not tryAzamara, Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, or another upsale line

OntarioCruiser

[Esprit]

I respectfully disagree.

 

My daughter is currently working aboard Reflection and my son in law is aboard Infinity. They give me a crew insight of Celebrity life which would be wrong of me to divulge on CC.

 

With their positions they are able to eat in public areas and nothing they have said comes close to your conclusions.

 

I wish you happier sailings.

[lais]

Now you have me looking at Viking, Lol. Oceania is our favorite for everything. I’m not a foodie but it is such a pleasure dining on Oceania.

We have booked a Celebrity cruise for next December and I’m going to hope they are not over salting the food on Reflection Our last Celebrity was in 2015 on the Solstice and we had no complaints whatsoever.

I totally understand what you are saying though. We have been on a couple of Celebrity cruises where the food and service was not all that great. You just never know what your going to get these days on any cruise line but with cutbacks on staff I have to try and understand that on the bigger ships these guys are overworked and hope for the best. It’s not going to stop me from cruising though it may influence what line I would like to cruise with.

I also think the shorter cruises puts a lot more pressure on the staff with the turnovers and new demands from new passengers.

[Orator]

I my experience quality of meals can vary greatly from cruise to cruise. It really depends on whose cooking and the ingredients delivered to the ship. Should be, but it is. I was on Infinity in September and the Executive Chef refused to accept much of the beef and melons that was delivered to the ship. You can't use one or two cruises to make a judgement on the over all food quality. I've been on B2B cruises where one had excellent meals and the other was weak. There were massive crew changes when this has happened.

[Toronto Guy]

I can honestly say that the food in the main dining room on the Constellation, Summit and Solstice the last couple years was better than it was in Blu. On Connie the food in the MDR as well as the service was absolutely fantastic. We actually won’t pay more to cruise Aquaclass again as a result.

[Cyber Kat]

 

We are trying the Viking Ocean line, but not until next February so cant tell you how we fared. But I can tell you that it is costing us less than the Edge would have per night. The cruise specialist was informed, helpful and polite. They also have a chat site where you can discuss any and all issues. All tours are included. All specialty coffees, soda, internet, laundry, so we dont need to be elite plus for the perks, No kids. Good website. No status to achieve for perks. All get the same perks.

 

 

 

I don’t expect you will find much sympathy for your cause here. If there is one thing I have learned about Cruise Critic over the years is that you dare not offer a critique of a cruise line on their own board - not without donning flame proof undies first [emoji12]

 

I just wanted to welcome you to the world of Viking! We just got home from our first Viking Ocean cruise and it’s a whole different experience from mainstream cruise lines. Those who sail on Crystal, Regent and SilverSea will tell you that Viking is not a luxury line, but I would disagree. Although, I will admit, there were no butlers.

 

There really aren’t class distinctions on Viking. Yes, as others have said, the higher priced rooms get first crack at the specialty restaurant reservations (for which there is no extra charge), but that is really before you board. Once you are on the ship, you rarely hear the word, “no.” You can make reservations at the venue, at the desk in the World Cafe, on your TV, by phone or on their excellent app.

 

Service was fantastic. You hear, “what can we do for you?” far more than, “we can’t do that.” And they are so very good at all the little touches - things you never thought about that leave you thinking, “wow!” Things like cloth towels in the restrooms (and the baskets for disposal are never overflowing), hand washing stations by food venues as alternatives to sanitizer, bottled water handed out when you leave the ship, a cool towel, a glass of bubbly or a reception committee when you return, heated plates on request, lots of made to order items in the buffet, no lines (except for the Gelato sometimes there were 2 people ahead of me [emoji33])

 

Viking certainly isn’t flawless. Dealing with their office staff pre-cruise can be a bit of a challenge, but once you get on that ship, they will amaze you. And the food was fabulous in all the venues.

 

Sorry, didn’t mean to get carried away, but you do get what you pay for. We have 2 more Viking cruises booked with more to come.

 

 

 

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[Bo1953]

Well, for me at least, this points out how 'food' can be subjective. As many palates are sailing on any given itin, then there as many, if not more, differences on how the food or other areas are received.

 

The OP's judgement is quite valid for them and them alone, as it is for others.

 

I tend to be more 'vocal/interactive' when it comes to my food aboard any line and as such will do what it takes to assist them in getting it right, for me. Some people do not want to work that hard when on vacation and I understand and accept accordingly.

 

If food was barely edible, it would be sent back directly with the reason and expect the replacement in due course. They, the chef and server will remember going forward the issues for me specifically and do what they can to get it correct going forward.

 

At any rate, I accept your moving on and the reasons, which is likely for the best for now.

 

For the poster who thinks or believes that many of us are protective of OUR cruise lines, well we are. Maybe to a fault, but protective over items of a subjective nature or of a nature where being a bit proactive was the way to go.

 

Passive-Agressive attitude and approach will not work, too often, here on CC... just be ready for it.

 

bon appetite & bon voyage

[TeeRick]

The next two years we will not be on a Celebrity ship after doing over 40 cruises and achieving elite plus status.

 

Where to begin, maybe at the end. Our last three cruises. Third last was on the |Infinity. Pacific Coastal. Wonderful itinerary. Food not edible in MDR and OVC. Poor service, poor entertainment, aging ship.

 

2nd last, Infinity, Panama crossing. Wonderful itinerary. Food not edible in MDR and OVC. Poor service, poor entertainment, aging ship.

 

Last cruise , Eclipse, beautiful ship, MDR terrible. Dined in OVC 11 out of 13 nights. The grill was amazing. MDR terrible service. Yes maitre d' full of apologies. but nothing changed. Food was so salty people with high blood pressure were told by the Medical facility to stop eating in MDR. A waiter off the record told us that it is salted for a reason, to make it more palatable.

 

Food is important to us, are we fussier than most, maybe.

We dont consume alcohol, maybe with nightly wine at the table, things would taste a whole lot better or maybe we wouldnt care. That was an observation made by some in the MDR. Just load up on the wine, everything will taste good.

 

What I have also noticed over the past few years is the separation of classes that does not exist on other more upscale lines, Viking O, Oceania for example. Those in Suites, Aqua get their own dining room, etc. Off the record, captains club host told us that the food in MDR has to be worse in order for Luminae and Blu to seem better so more suites can be sold. Yes I understand that.

 

I will touch upon one more area. Customer relations. It has been rare when I call Celeb that I get an informed, helpful, polite "cruise specialist" In fact, more often than not, I am put on hold for a very long time while the "specialist" talks to someone who can tell him/her what to do.

 

The Celebrity web site, well what can I say that has not been said so eloquently so many times before by others.

 

We reached a decision, not lightly to cancel our two Celeb reservations and try something else. One cancellation was the Edge, we had the infinity balcony but that did not buy us the dining experience suites would have, even though it was much more expensive than a regular balcony. So separate areas for suites, the elitism continues. Then we cancelled the Sillhoette, even though we are losing the 200 non refundable deposit. Just cant face more of the same.

 

We are trying the Viking Ocean line, but not until next February so cant tell you how we fared. But I can tell you that it is costing us less than the Edge would have per night. The cruise specialist was informed, helpful and polite. They also have a chat site where you can discuss any and all issues. All tours are included. All specialty coffees, soda, internet, laundry, so we dont need to be elite plus for the perks, No kids. Good website. No status to achieve for perks. All get the same perks.

 

Some will say, did we bring all of our woes to the attention of Celebrity. Yes in all ways that are available to us.

 

Maybe trying something new will make us appreciate what we had, but somehow I doubt it.

 

Those with no sailings, or few sailings will not understand why we are leaving Celeb. Those in Suites and Aqua also may not as they get a different experience.

 

I welcome all respectful comments.

 

After X number of cruises we are so disappointed as things have become so unbearable that we are leaving Y cruise line and trying Z cruise line because we suspect it will be much better over there. This post happens multiple times a day all over these boards. Hopefully the ideal cruise line is out there somewhere!

[ECCruise]

From my recollection, fares were much higher during the "good old days" and Celebrity never offered perks such as free drink packages. I believe Celebrity is a better value now than in the past, but in some areas, things may not be as good as they were in the past.

 

Oceania and Viking are much higher priced than most Celebrity categories. We took one cruise on Oceania, and felt that Celebrity was a much better value.

 

Respectfully disagree.

 

We've been sailing for 20 years. 70+ cruises, around 1000 days. I can show you dozens of instances where pricing for exactly the same cabin is 2+ times the cost it was 10-15 years ago. Like almost $10,000 for a plain vanilla South American sailing in a Veranda guarantee. Done that route 3x, never paid more than $4000 for a specified, mid ship balcony.

 

And Celebrity specific, 10-15 years ago the dining experience was engineered by Michel Roux. Most here touting away never experienced those meals. Many probably never heard of him. MDR was as good, maybe better, than your $50 pp meal in Murano.

 

Your booze packages are decidedly not free. We book pricing without those and trust me, you are paying for it. Every dime.

[sr4mjc]

After making Diamond on Royal, we finally booked our first Celebrity cruise on the Equinox. We found the MDR much, much better than Royal, so I guess it's all relative. I am fairly sensitive to salt (not medically, just don't like it) and didn't notice it as a problem. Sailing Eclipse next month, hopefully the food won't be too salty there either. I do try and push a lot of fluids on cruises to stay hydrated.

[excitedofharpenden]

I my experience quality of meals can vary greatly from cruise to cruise. It really depends on whose cooking and the ingredients delivered to the ship. Should be, but it is. I was on Infinity in September and the Executive Chef refused to accept much of the beef and melons that was delivered to the ship. You can't use one or two cruises to make a judgement on the over all food quality. I've been on B2B cruises where one had excellent meals and the other was weak. There were massive crew changes when this has happened.

This should not be the case though. There is no reason why I should be concerned for food in the MDR because the Exec Chef is different. I’m paying the same money. Yes, some changes can be noted, but if there is one thing I’ve seen of Celebrity in more recent times especially since the larger ships came online it’s that the whole running of the ship is more standardised and not so personal. Supply and prep of the food should be pretty similar each time. Maybe not the same, but similar. There’s no excuse.

 

Phil

[chemmo]

After 40 cruises mainly using the MDR for evening meals I think you are ready for a change! If you average 10 night cruises that is 400 meals!

 

We decided by cruise 2 that whilst we could enjoy some meals in the MDR we wanted a variety of dining experiences in terms of both food and ambiance. Prior to the existence of the suite life on Celebrity we simply booked a dining package to supplement the MDR/buffet. Even with Luminae we like to also use the speciality restaurants....I honestly think whatever line we cruised on we would want more options than the MDR. One of the things that made our recent Reflection cruise special was some new speciality restaurants to try.

 

At present Celebrity provides the product we want at a price we are comfortable with...we regularly research other lines, we have even drafted spread sheets to compare cost/itinerary/facilities and, for us at the moment, Celebrity seems the best fit.

 

It sounds like Celebrity is no longer providing what you need so it is time for you to try a ship with whatever is important to you.

 

Sincere best wishes for some great new cruise adventures!

[NLH Arizona]

From my recollection, fares were much higher during the "good old days" and Celebrity never offered perks such as free drink packages.

How right you are.

[Orator]

This should not be the case though. There is no reason why I should be concerned for food in the MDR because the Exec Chef is different. I’m paying the same money. Yes, some changes can be noted, but if there is one thing I’ve seen of Celebrity in more recent times especially since the larger ships came online it’s that the whole running of the ship is more standardised and not so personal. Supply and prep of the food should be pretty similar each time. Maybe not the same, but similar. There’s no excuse.

 

Phil

Phil:

I agree that there should be no excuse for inconsistency and Celebrity needs to address the issue. If I would be King for a day at Celebrity I would look into the training program for a number of positions. There's just been so much turnover in key onboard positions that I can't recognize many names on the Who's Onboard" thread. Don't feel that the problem will get any better with the expansion of the fleet. Hopefully Celebrity can attract and retain talented staff. That to me is the key to a successful operation.

[Flamencacha]

For the OP, I admire your courage! Anyone reaching such high status and deciding to walk away and post for all to know why is definitely courageous. Having sailed, X only twice,and finding a distinct downgrade between the two, I believe everything you are stating.

 

The truth is most midpoint cruise lines keep cutting back and are catering to the higher paying customers. Having done 8 cruises in a period of 3.5 years if the cutbacks continue, I will be choosing another mode of travel.

 

 

 

 

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[richard1s]

I my experience quality of meals can vary greatly from cruise to cruise. It really depends on whose cooking and the ingredients delivered to the ship.

This is a very accurate observation; I have noticed the exact same thing. There obviously are variables that passengers are not privy too but that most definitely affect the finished product. You would hope for consistency within the cruise line but this is not the case.

We are not picky eaters but we have also experienced MDR food that was inedible - a piece of meat that is mostly grizzle, or food way undercooked etc. But this has only happened to us on one cruise out of over 30.

[lvz2cruz]

Prices now are definitely higher than ten years ago which is to be expected if the same product is offered . But Celebrity has greatly declined the product offered .

I agree food in the MDR is nowhere near what is was 10-15 years ago in selection, quality, service, presentation, or quantity.

On the first night of our last cruise the man next to us sent his food back twice. They were seated before us and we hadn't gotten our food yet. I thought he was a chronic complainer--how could it be so bad??? Then we got the same thing and I understood. The food was not good and not at all typical of celebrity throughout the cruise.

Our other favorite line is HAL which is always cheaper on similar itineraries/nights and their food has not declined. Every meal is prepared well and service is relaxing and wonderful .

We keep coming back to celebrity and hoping to be happily surprised it's back to its old wonderful experience. Hopefully this time.

OP hope you enjoy Viking . If not try HAL.

[Oceangoer2]

Phil:

I agree that there should be no excuse for inconsistency and Celebrity needs to address the issue. If I would be King for a day at Celebrity I would look into the training program for a number of positions. There's just been so much turnover in key onboard positions that I can't recognize many names on the Who's Onboard" thread. Don't feel that the problem will get any better with the expansion of the fleet. Hopefully Celebrity can attract and retain talented staff. That to me is the key to a successful operation.

 

Mostly I agree, however Phil prefers consistency across the line, which is standardization, and on the other hand would like to see a more 'personal' approach, which is inconsistency and individual. Hard to have it both ways. A smaller and perhaps more upscale line may provide the personal experience desired.

[Oceangoer2]

This is a very accurate observation; I have noticed the exact same thing. There obviously are variables that passengers are not privy too but that most definitely affect the finished product. You would hope for consistency within the cruise line but this is not the case.

We are not picky eaters but we have also experienced MDR food that was inedible - a piece of meat that is mostly grizzle, or food way undercooked etc. But this has only happened to us on one cruise out of over 30.

 

We are Elite Plus and loyal to the cruise line. Last cruise I experienced a 2 out of 8 dinner disappointment with the quality of meat on the menu. Sides were good, soups were watery even cream soups (cost cutting?). I even said to DH, 'how much longer can we do this'. Specialty restaurants became the default (we purchased a 4 night package). This has been a gradual failing over the years, so I do agree with most of the posters. Somehow X has to recover their dining image and if it means better Head Office chefs planning menus and ingredients and recipes or the Purchasing Dept procuring better quality and charging the patron a 'little' more for their experience, it will be worth it to us...IMHO.

[ptf2009]

Oh dear, we booked Silhouette for next Feb. and now I’m concerned. We usually cruise RC, so we’ll be elite with Celebrity. We sailed X several years ago: Century and Equinox (beautiful ship). But I’m worried about the food being too salty...I don’t use a salt shaker ever:( We aren’t foodies and are happy that someone is cooking and cleaning for us, but too much salt would be inedible to us, also. Maybe we’ll change and go on RC in Feb. for our southern Caribbean cruise.

 

Thanks for the “heads up.” Oh and we only book balconies and if we find a good deal maybe a junior suite, so no suite perks (I guess we’re just too frugal):)

 

I hope you LOVE saling on Viking and ...... let us know all about your experience:)

[phoenix_dream]

We also sailed Infinity last year on both the Panama Canal (in April) and the Pacific Coastal. Absolutely LOVED both of these cruises. We ate in Blu so I cannot comment on MDR food. The food in Blu was consistently good to very good. I concur that the buffet leaves something to be desired but it was not that bad (and keep in mind they are going to upgrade that when they do their upcoming renovations). Service overall on the ship was excellent. Thought the entertainment was great as well, excepting the production shows which overall we despise. As far as ship condition? IMHO it was in great shape. Brand, spanking new? Of course not. But not run down in any way.

 

To each their own, and I am no Celebrity cheerleader as a review of all my posts will attest, but after 41 cruises we are still big Celebrity fans. Is it what it used to be? No sad to say. But overall it is still a great experience in our opinion and we will continue to sail with them happily.

[jkgourmet]

Oh dear, we booked Silhouette for next Feb. and now I’m concerned. We usually cruise RC, so we’ll be elite with Celebrity. We sailed X several years ago: Century and Equinox (beautiful ship). But I’m worried about the food being too salty...I don’t use a salt shaker ever:( We aren’t foodies and are happy that someone is cooking and cleaning for us, but too much salt would be inedible to us, also. Maybe we’ll change and go on RC in Feb. for our southern Caribbean cruise.

 

Thanks for the “heads up.” Oh and we only book balconies and if we find a good deal maybe a junior suite, so no suite perks (I guess we’re just too frugal):)

 

I hope you LOVE saling on Viking and ...... let us know all about your experience:)

 

What do you mean "no perks"? You easily could have booked and gotten your choice of 2-3 options. Booking with certain TA's gets you even more. (I recognize that Blu and Luminae are not included with balcony or below.)

[B x]

Reading with interest and guess many of you are from the States.

 

We are in the UK and have traveled X many times in the past 20 years, the last 7/8 years is suites and yes you get Luninae and the quality of food is good, but on some nights we have ordered from the MDR and quite honestly have difficulty identifying with the "inedible" comments.

 

When the grandchildren were younger we went RCI on ten or so occasions, the last being 2015 and I would agree that their service and food quality has declined. But afraid I am unable to correlate with some of the criticism of X in this thread.

 

It is accepted that all cruise lines are tightening their belts and staff are thinner on the ground, cabin staff are one very good example. But if one reflects on the increases in price against the cost of living I do not personally believe prices have hoisted that much.

 

There is reference to high prices paid by suite guests, we are travelling on Reflection next month and the cost of our suite is only £1,000 higher than our daughter is paying for a Concierge cabin a few weeks later.

 

We have also traveled HM a few times, excellent service but much higher costs. Now if you were to try the major UK operator P&O you really would see declining standards, not to mention cabins the size of a shoe box.

[B x]

HA even.