The Celebrity Revolution

[Host Jazzbeau]

Azamara removed half the tubs in the CC suites in their recent renovations, and while most people [including moi] are pleased there is a loud minority that will only book the remaining tub suites. Chacun à son goût.

[Jeremiah1212]

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[elena7seas]

Have there been any comments about any changes to the Cafe al Bacio on M class ships?

[fleckle]

They're welcome to put in separate tubs, but I haven't taken a shower in a tub for 30 or so years EXCEPT when I'm in one of those M class sky suites. Come on, Celebrity, get with the program. That is SO outdated. And yes, definitely an accident waiting to happen.

The accident is no longer waiting to happen. It already happened.

I know someone who had a bad fall while taking a shower in one of those tubs.

 

IMHO, the tubs in the M Class Celebrity Suites are even worse than the tubs in the Sky Suites.

[chemmo]

The accident is no longer waiting to happen. It already happened.

I know someone who had a bad fall while taking a shower in one of those tubs.

 

IMHO, the tubs in the M Class Celebrity Suites are even worse than the tubs in the Sky Suites.

 

When we were on the Summit an elderly couple were in a CS. Second day they were tearfully telling the concierge that Mrs couldn’t get safely in the tub even with the step stool the butler had found them....

 

The concierge was able to give them access to an inside room to use to shower in. Not ideal but better than nothing.

 

With the number of elderly guests on cruise ships a warning or clearer description of ‘shower over bath with a high step over which could cause difficulty for guests with mobility issues’ would be useful....

[Denny01]

I’ve cruised Celebrity as our first choice coming up on 25 times. Love the service, how the design reduces the crowding of commons areas, and the low key, my view of adult, approach to cruising, ite lets me pick and choose what I’ll do.....i don’t need constant distraction, or disruptive ‘invites’.

 

Now to post about these changes. For some reason, I hadn’t jumped on this thread and so I started reading through the 9 pages but gave up. I won’t go through my opinon of the ‘concerns’ posted, I’ll just say, I’m looking forward to the redesigns and upgrades and will actually wait to see how it impacts what I find the major pluses I see on Celebrity. I’m not a Suite person, but enjoy a well-located veranda. I didn’t like the Reflection taking so much of the Observation Lounge for additional Suites, but that’s business and will stay off Her uniless there’s a major reason. Will have to see how these changes impact what I find important, to me.

 

I think after so many X cruises I think these changes are a positive. It’s human nature to start complaining about what we become accustomed to and finding ‘issues’ that are truly minor. Hopefully, X keeps what I think is their major draw and these changes will enhance my experience with them.

 

Will intentionally make a reservation on one of the early ‘Revolutionized’ ships to see what it’s like, just as I jumped early on onto the Edge, and got sucked into a B2B by friends!

 

I think the Edge will be fine, fine experience, and using that attitude, will try out one or the updated ships.

 

Den

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Have there been any comments about any changes to the Cafe al Bacio on M class ships?

 

Hi Eileen! Haven't seen any comment about changing Bacio. Given that it is one of the most popular venues on the ship, Celebrity would be foolish to change it. I loved it when Captain Kate showed up to work. They wouldn't let her make coffee, but they did let her dispense treats and chat with the customers. We had a good conversation about the book I was reading.

[Fogfog]

I have read about the "revolution" changes to the M class and S class...however haven't seen any deck plans

 

Have been googling and searching here on CC

 

Has anyone seen deck plans that indicate the changes-- loss of the Sky Lounge etc?

 

TYIA.

[GottaKnowWhen]

I have read about the "revolution" changes to the M class and S class...however haven't seen any deck plans

 

Have been googling and searching here on CC

 

Has anyone seen deck plans that indicate the changes-- loss of the Sky Lounge etc?

 

TYIA.

No, but I did see a recent Twitter feed from X with a drawing of what I believe they called Suite Country on Millennium. Whatever, it was a suite's thing. That looked like it might be taking the area recently redesigned as an outdoor movie venue.

Stan

[Fogfog]

No, but I did see a recent Twitter feed from X with a drawing of what I believe they called Suite Country on Millennium. Whatever, it was a suite's thing. That looked like it might be taking the area recently redesigned as an outdoor movie venue.

Stan

 

I wonder if the X prices will skyrocket with the "revolutionized" ships--

 

We will miss the Sky Lounge--we used it daily on our Baltics sailing--both during the am/day and in the evenings it was a great place to be. (Eclipse)

And we made use of it on Silhoutte and Reflection as well.

 

I hope with the hype of the "revolution" that the MDR offerings improve.

We like the UDP and were sorry they took that away because on one sailing we ate in the specialty restaurants for all meals.

We'll be sailing in AQ and are going to give Blu a try

 

Question will be whether X will price out loyal pax and how it will compare with offerings in the YC on MSC for example. Suites on X will surely be more $

 

We were planning on getting to Elite in X so we'd be Black card holders on MSC with the status match. Guess we will be looking for the last cruises on the X ships not "revolutionized" in order to get there and not pay the hype-fees

 

We like to know what we are paying for and not having deck plans for post revolution ...

[ECCruise]

I wonder if the X prices will skyrocket with the "revolutionized" ships--

 

We will miss the Sky Lounge--we used it daily on our Baltics sailing--both during the am/day and in the evenings it was a great place to be. (Eclipse)

And we made use of it on Silhoutte and Reflection as well.

 

I hope with the hype of the "revolution" that the MDR offerings improve.

We like the UDP and were sorry they took that away because on one sailing we ate in the specialty restaurants for all meals.

We'll be sailing in AQ and are going to give Blu a try

 

Question will be whether X will price out loyal pax and how it will compare with offerings in the YC on MSC for example. Suites on X will surely be more $

 

We were planning on getting to Elite in X so we'd be Black card holders on MSC with the status match. Guess we will be looking for the last cruises on the X ships not "revolutionized" in order to get there and not pay the hype-fees

 

We like to know what we are paying for and not having deck plans for post revolution ...

X prices have already skyrocketed.

 

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[phoenix_dream]

I see and read all about these changes with a heavy heart and hope that I am pleasantly surprised in the future. I am generally an optimist by nature but just don't like what I am seeing and hearing. While the ships certainly can use an upgrade (M class especially) the designs to me look cold as ice. Reminds me of the Cosmopolitan casino in Las Vegas. Some love it. We went there and felt like we were gambling at the north pole - all cold, 'modern' design. Hated it. I also dislike Celebrity's continued enhancement of the suite experience to the detriment of other cruisers. I have no issue with people who pay more, getting more. But when they continue to take things away from the general populace (who is the vast majority of the ship!), in particular common space, I don't like it at all. And prices are indeed skyrocketing. Right now the prices for the Edge class are nothing short of outrageous. I don't have a good feeling at all about what they will be for the other ships, post 'revolution'.

 

I have been a loyal Celebrity cruiser for more than 25 years - 35+ cruises taken and 7 more booked. I'm feeling more and more marginalized by Celebrity. I realize they need to attract younger cruisers to keep their business in business. But those of us in our 50's and 60's, God willing, have 20-30 more years of cruising ahead of us. That's a lot of cash in Celebrity's pocket! I was hoping to continue on Celebrity, but given all these changes I am not sure that will happen after all. For the first time in many, many years we are looking into other options. There have been enough comments on these boards similar to mine that I hope Celebrity is reading and at least considering. And based on younger people that I know, cruising is just not top of the list of vacations they are interested in anytime in the near future. I am not sure fancier digs will sway that opinion. Perhaps Celebrity is pulling the plug on us older folks just a little too quickly. I guess time will tell.

[villauk]

I see and read all about these changes with a heavy heart and hope that I am pleasantly surprised in the future. I am generally an optimist by nature but just don't like what I am seeing and hearing. While the ships certainly can use an upgrade (M class especially) the designs to me look cold as ice. Reminds me of the Cosmopolitan casino in Las Vegas. Some love it. We went there and felt like we were gambling at the north pole - all cold, 'modern' design. Hated it. I also dislike Celebrity's continued enhancement of the suite experience to the detriment of other cruisers. I have no issue with people who pay more, getting more. But when they continue to take things away from the general populace (who is the vast majority of the ship!), in particular common space, I don't like it at all. And prices are indeed skyrocketing. Right now the prices for the Edge class are nothing short of outrageous. I don't have a good feeling at all about what they will be for the other ships, post 'revolution'.

 

I have been a loyal Celebrity cruiser for more than 25 years - 35+ cruises taken and 7 more booked. I'm feeling more and more marginalized by Celebrity. I realize they need to attract younger cruisers to keep their business in business. But those of us in our 50's and 60's, God willing, have 20-30 more years of cruising ahead of us. That's a lot of cash in Celebrity's pocket! I was hoping to continue on Celebrity, but given all these changes I am not sure that will happen after all. For the first time in many, many years we are looking into other options. There have been enough comments on these boards similar to mine that I hope Celebrity is reading and at least considering. And based on younger people that I know, cruising is just not top of the list of vacations they are interested in anytime in the near future. I am not sure fancier digs will sway that opinion. Perhaps Celebrity is pulling the plug on us older folks just a little too quickly. I guess time will tell.

 

We, too, are experiencing similar views to yours, and are also in the lower end of your age bracket. Additionally, we have teens who have cruised on all our sailings and hopefully are the next generation of cruisers. Will that be on X? Not too sure at this point.

 

We are trying another line this year, even though we have two X place holders and one Royal to use. I’m receiving emails from Crystal and Oceania that are less expensive than X :o. We have to cruise in the peak seasons and feel those prices are going through the roof! What some pax are paying for suites in the off-season, we’re barely getting a balcony for, whereas we could sail for double the amount of days on a line such as Princess. I’m sure the experience isn’t that different - we’re soon to discover. There was a post only a couple of days ago that stated a Princess itinerary, slightly better than X’s to Hawaii, was $1700 less :eek: - it’s a no brainer!

 

Apart from Reflection (far too crowded), we have thoroughly enjoyed all our sailings on X and especially love the aft cabins on M class ships. After seeing the prototype infinity cabin for Edge on the Connie thread, I do feel like those cabins are more like river cruises, and also the outside of the ship, being flat and high, will have more of a feel of a block of ‘flats’ (apartments to you :D). With less public space, will the new revitalised ships provide an overcrowded experience similar to Reflection? Only time will tell.

[Fogfog]

Well from reading this article here on CC... it appears the restaurants on the EDGE will be different in all aspects.

 

I wonder then with the revolution on the S class and M class if the specialty restaurants will change up?

 

Our fav has been Murano. Wish there was more info on the changes as ships are "upgraded" before booking

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=8438

[Baron Barracuda]

Some rough numbers:

 

Revolution Program Cost $500mm

Total berths ~ 25,000

Cost per berth $20k

Assumed payback period 10 yrs

Cost per berth per day ($20k / 10yrs / 365 days) = $5.48

 

If all costs assigned to suites

Suite berths ~ 9% of total

Cost per suite berth per day ($5.48 / .09) = $60.88

 

So, even if cost is spread equally across all cabins (and it shouldn't be as suites benefit dis proportionally) X only needs to raise prices $5.48/day to break even. That's $38 for a 7 night sailing. Expect actual price increases to be somewhat higher with the difference being pure profit.

[Denny01]

Change can cause concerns. Part of life. I’d assume that Celebrity needs to change and not stick with desisgns set decades ago. I would think if they didn’t upgrade and change, we’d not have Celebrity around long.

 

As to skyrocketing costs, I think the recent estimate on costs per SR was a great tool. And I also looked at the costs of Summit and Equinox SRs next Fall after their upgrades and don’t see any big (or much at all) increases over the year before and other comparable cruises. Edge certainly is expensive, but that’s a whole different issue.

 

Personllay, looking forward to the changes and the future cruises. We, at least lots of ‘we’, need and want change.

 

Den

[bEwAbG]

But my problem is with current pricing, so year-over-year comparisons aren't really helpful. The prices on Sky Suites have gone way up on even basic Caribbean sailings, but the product offering has not increased in quality along with it. I can now get the same quality elsewhere for thou$ands less. Good for them for getting those prices, but the value proposition is just no longer there unless I find a decent deal at the last minute. And I say this as someone who is in their desired demo: young(ish) suite booker. It certainly doesn't engender loyalty.

[Fogfog]

But my problem is with current pricing, so year-over-year comparisons aren't really helpful. The prices on Sky Suites have gone way up on even basic Caribbean sailings, but the product offering has not increased in quality along with it. I can now get the same quality elsewhere for thou$ands less. Good for them for getting those prices, but the value proposition is just no longer there unless I find a decent deal at the last minute. And I say this as someone who is in their desired demo: young(ish) suite booker. It certainly doesn't engender loyalty.

 

I hear you.

And we have started looking at other lines to see what product works for less $. The status match of MSC imho is smart on their part to strip away frequent cruisers who don't want to loose the perks of loyalty --- - IF we can get a great vacation experience elsewhere plus the perks--all for less $ We'd be foolish to stick with X.

We have liked the X product which has been fairly competitive on the sailings we have booked. We'll continue to shop around for every sailing.

[ABoatNerd]

I concur with phoenix_dream's assessment.

 

Like in all travel, people have differing wants, I do hope Celebrity does well with all their changes.

 

Fortunately, cruise consumers have many choices so go and enjoy!

 

Essentially, my family and many friends want to sail on a Ship, not a floating las vegas hotel.

 

That rules out most mass cruise lines including Celebrity's fleet going forward based on what we currently know of the changes. Celebrity's fixation on suites, removal of forward viewing areas, anticipated higher density in non suite areas and focus on amusements/revenue generating activities that focus patrons inwards is not something we will purchase.

 

Celebrity's M class vessels are our favorite as they have a promenade, forward inside/outside viewing area. They are the best passenger ships ever except for the QM2 of course. We have seen much of the world from the Skylounge.

 

We have moved to Oceania and Viking to acquire the Ship / ocean experience all the while having a true premium experience.

 

Safe travels everyone.

[BridgeMates]

 

Apart from Reflection (far too crowded),:D)...... With less public space, will the new revitalised ships provide an overcrowded experience similar to Reflection? Only time will tell.

 

We've recently booked the Reflection with 2 other couples who are going on Celebrity for the first time. Having been on the Eclipse and the Equinox, will I notice the difference? I think I read awhile back they cut the Sky Lounge in half......hate to hear that. Where do you really notice the crowds?...the Martini Bar is always crowded anyway. What about the other bar areas?

 

Thanks.

[Fogfog]

I concur with phoenix_dream's assessment.

 

Like in all travel, people have differing wants, I do hope Celebrity does well with all their changes.

 

Fortunately, cruise consumers have many choices so go and enjoy!

 

Essentially, my family and many friends want to sail on a Ship, not a floating las vegas hotel.

 

That rules out most mass cruise lines including Celebrity's fleet going forward based on what we currently know of the changes. Celebrity's fixation on suites, removal of forward viewing areas, anticipated higher density in non suite areas and focus on amusements/revenue generating activities that focus patrons inwards is not something we will purchase.

 

Celebrity's M class vessels are our favorite as they have a promenade, forward inside/outside viewing area. They are the best passenger ships ever except for the QM2 of course. We have seen much of the world from the Skylounge.

 

We have moved to Oceania and Viking to acquire the Ship / ocean experience all the while having a true premium experience.

 

Safe travels everyone.

 

Exactly

We are not "vegas" people and aren't looking for "vegas" style floating hotel/casino etc

 

Sky Lounge, Ensemble Bar and Murano have been highlights for us.

[kearney]

After 20+ cruises on Royal... we decided to try Celebrity Sept '17.... since then we have been on 4 S class cruises... with Edge scheduled later in the year. I like Royal... but there is something comfortable about Celebrity... like the old pair of shoes... I should toss out.. but they are just too comfortable. When I board any S class... I know what I am getting. The Revolution will clearly change that... on the one hand I miss the idea of the predictability of the experience... on the other hand... look forward to a new 'routine'. We shall see... I will at least have an idea on the 'look' after our Edge sailing. I am a bit surprised that they have committed to major change without first getting feedback from actual passengers.

 

Now the gray look, does not appeal to me. I remember back in the 50's my parents first decor included gray sofa and other touches of gray. By the 60s it was gone... frankly gone in design world until recently... why? Gray is cold and un-inviting. I agree that the cabins look very sterile. They say there is more storage, but I can't see how that could be possible. Not as much of a problem for a 7 day cruise... but for a 14 day... I wonder if the designers have ever been on a cruise with say a family. I have used that storage area above the bed on several S Class ships and would have been lost without it. On our 14 cruise the steward actually place a number of additional wire hangers... commenting that passengers needed more on longer sailings. The closets look smaller and likely include a safe... that does not appear over the refrigerator. Anyway... I am willing to try new things... so long as I can have a place to put my stuff!

[Shadow9612]

... but there is something comfortable about Celebrity... like the old pair of shoes... I should toss out.. but they are just too comfortable. When I board any S class... I know what I am getting.

Excellent analogy - I feel the same

The Revolution will clearly change that... on the one hand I miss the idea of the predictability of the experience... on the other hand... look forward to a new 'routine'. We shall see... I will at least have an idea on the 'look' after our Edge sailing. I am a bit surprised that they have committed to major change without first getting feedback from actual passengers.

I thought the same, why not get feedback on what worked and what didn't work before revolutionizing the S class ships (which are clearly popular).

[tbugstwo]

Prices will likely go up with more price bundling of promos that punish Elites.

I have no idea how you got from the original post regarding “The Celebrity Revolution’” to this rant on promos/price bundling that “punishes” Elites. I am an Elite Plus and I do not see the problem with Celebrity’s bundling. If you don’t want it, wait to book your cruise when nonbundled rates (ie, resident, senior, whatever) are offered. Celebrity is not forcing you to book a cruise on them. Or, book an inside cabin which I believe never comes bundled! I for one am looking forward to sailing on Millie shortly after it is “Revolutionized.” I was on its Inaugural cruise in 2000 and have spent over 90 days cruising on it since that time. If you are not happy with Celebrity try a different line!

[chemmo]

We've recently booked the Reflection with 2 other couples who are going on Celebrity for the first time. Having been on the Eclipse and the Equinox, will I notice the difference? I think I read awhile back they cut the Sky Lounge in half......hate to hear that. Where do you really notice the crowds?...the Martini Bar is always crowded anyway. What about the other bar areas?

 

Thanks.

 

The only area we really noticed things were busier was on sea days poolside. All beds taken quite early. Whilst some were obviously ‘reserved’ by books or flip flops most actually did have bodies occupying. Unlike on previous cruises on Equinox, Eclipse, Solstice, Summit and Millennium searching around a little didn’t result in finding beds a little more out of the way...

 

This progressed to the lawn area where many guests were enjoying the sun lay on towels. This did have the knock on that those who had booked alcoves had little privacy.

 

Thanks to the reports of Villauk and others we were not surprised or disappointed. We left our tops etc on one lonely upright chair and enjoyed our swim! After we slowly dripped our way to the plastic mushroom seats at the sunset bar to continue drying off with a nice long drink before enjoying lunch at the Porch. Later we simply enjoyed sitting out on our own balcony.

 

We really enjoyed the extra dining options on Reflection and would happily cruise again on her.

 

We now have post refurbishment cruises booked on Equinox and Silhouette both in the Caribbean. Neither are noticeably more expensive than our previous cruises in this region. What is far more expensive for next year is the cost of cruising in the Mediterranean. Massively higher.....Supply and demand will tell out....