Celebrity Management Undercover? 👀

[jules27556]

8 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I will not book another cruise on Celebrity until my upcoming cruise is experienced.

 

As others have said you have NRDs,  time spent booking airlines, hotels, and excursions.  It would be a mess to cancel as well as a loss of money.

 

So I will be on my next Celebrity cruise with lower expectations.

I agree about future bookings.

 

What I find unfortunate is that right now it seems almost necessary to lower expectations to

avoid disappointment.😞

[mahdnc]

21 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

So I will be on my next Celebrity cruise with lower expectations.

 

It looks like the best restaurant left and never came back.

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by mahdnc

[Pinboy]

3 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Their right to do so, just as long as there is no direct malicious intent to malign either X or other posters here...

I recently received an email notifying me that ( won't mention name ) quoted one of my posts.

( basically that we never had a bad cruise on Celebrity ).

When I went to view it on CC and politely (!! ) reply it was not there.

Now I understand why -- I assume the Moderator removed it ??

 

 

[Oceangoer2]

46 minutes ago, OysterD said:

 

Apparently that's not correct. There's a thread on this already and menus from 2019 have been posted which are identical to menus on current ships. So no, there isn't a shorter menu, its literally the same.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the reminder.  We ordered from the MDR in 2019 as well....didn't seem like an issue then or now as there was another alternate menu, but I still think the L menu should be one from which you don't want to order elsewhere.

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, Pinboy said:

I recently received an email notifying me that ( won't mention name ) quoted one of my posts.

( basically that we never had a bad cruise on Celebrity ).

When I went to view it on CC and politely (!! ) reply it was not there.

Now I understand why -- I assume the Moderator removed it ??

p probably someone flagged it....

 

Sorry about that.

 

bon voyage

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

 

I remember that tag line from the mid 90's. But it was short lived. 

Edited January 25, 2023 by davekathy

[Ipeeinthepools]

3 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

It looks like the best restaurant left and never came back.

 

Every day it is getting easier for Celebrity to exceed my expectations 

[stevec999]

On 1/22/2023 at 4:20 PM, catgirl411 said:

Just got off Princess and their food was pretty sad. And if you go to their forums there are lots of people complaining there and vowing to never sail Princess again.

We just got off our first Princess and it was the worse cruise in 30 years. Service was lack luster to just bad. Food was disappointing. Our last Celebrity was  much better but still not up to the past cruises.

[D C]

45 minutes ago, stevec999 said:

We just got off our first Princess and it was the worse cruise in 30 years. Service was lack luster to just bad. Food was disappointing. Our last Celebrity was  much better but still not up to the past cruises.

Interesting. We were on Princess last week and thought the food was very good.  Service wasn't up to what we're used to with Celebrity, but I gather that's as much a difference in how they normally do things as anything.  Wouldn't say we had any bad service.  Nothing worse than a typical restaurant at home. 

[catgirl411]

1 hour ago, D C said:

Interesting. We were on Princess last week and thought the food was very good.  Service wasn't up to what we're used to with Celebrity, but I gather that's as much a difference in how they normally do things as anything.  Wouldn't say we had any bad service.  Nothing worse than a typical restaurant at home. 

 

1 hour ago, D C said:

Interesting. We were on Princess last week and thought the food was very good.  Service wasn't up to what we're used to with Celebrity, but I gather that's as much a difference in how they normally do things as anything.  Wouldn't say we had any bad service.  Nothing worse than a typical restaurant at home. 

Service was actually great…once we found the right table…and very good in Sabbatini’s and Crown Grill. The food in the MDR was very inconsistent. Inedible short ribs (both on Emerald Princess in December and Regal Princess in Alaska in August). Seared scallops that had no searing whatsoever.  Food in the specialty restaurants was quite good but food in the lunch and breakfast buffets was pretty uninspiring.

[Mickey S]

18 months ago in connection with Beyonds hype,  CEO Perlo said the new strategy was for X to target the Premium Large Ship segment.

 

I found it intreguing vs the normal Premiums  because that meant to me premium food choices for all, moreso for Luminae and Blu and having the big ship with a variety of venues.

 

Expectations were raised.

 

Then when operations restarted I read about Tommahawk Steak in OVC and started to wonder how is that affordable. I found out as prices started to escalate. My 2019 TA was 3500 in Aqua with xcellerate  and premium drinks and  the current price 4 years later for Aqua dependng on ship is 5-10k. Conclusion? Cruising is no longer the bargain it once was.

 

But I thought, thats ok provided its gonna be magical.

 

This lockdown created a multitude of operational and financial problems and it takes magical leaders to work through it all-and I am not sure the Leadershp teams have the skill sets to do it at any of the big cruise lines.

 

Side pertinent story--I have been involved  with minority investments with upper level restaurants, not real top end but better than average.

 

I would  go to lunch with the VP of Food Services and he would order 3-4 dishes, and if one did not meet his expectation he would go to the kitchen right then and show them how to do it right.

 

The CEO when a new restaurant was opened, was ther every night for 2 weeks and what he did was look at and test what was coming out of the kitchen to make certain the staff knew the expectations.

 

I think there is a huge disconnect in the process with X and LLP and staff have no clue how to fix it. A good step would be to become "hands on".  Again part of it is staffing with a disproportionate number of untrained people. However thats why top mgt makes the big bucks they do with stock options et al.

 

The standards of performamce have to be set and followed and those standards are translated in advertising hype and whatever to the customers and thats how our expectations are set. And reputation and X had a great rep.

 

If a Sky Suite  is 1500 a night on Beyond for a prime itinerary cruise, then the customer is expecting prime within reason of course. nothing is perfect.

 

Same concept for a 650 a nite IV cabin on Beyond. or a 450 a nite  balcony on Sil or RF.

It is all a matter of standards and expectations and value perceived.

 

what I know is land based trips are becoming a good option.

 

But its unfortunate that as one poster here said, the Govt grasped on to cruise lines more than other businesses. Almost as if it wanted to put cruise lines out of businss.

 

I trusted the cruise lines to do a better job of protecting the customers than CDC or NIH.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Mickey S

[RichYak]

20 minutes ago, Mickey S said:

CEO Perlo said the new strategy was for X to target the Premium Large Ship segment.

This is interesting in that there is no Premium Large Ship segment. The premiums are all smaller ships. LLP may have tried to fill a void that ultimately had no demand resulting in full "retreat" (pun intended). Now she's repositioning X against the other mass market lines with pricing that makes no sense.

[NMTraveller]

5 minutes ago, RichYak said:

This is interesting in that there is no Premium Large Ship segment. The premiums are all smaller ships. LLP may have tried to fill a void that ultimately had no demand resulting in full "retreat" (pun intended). Now she's repositioning X against the other mass market lines with pricing that makes no sense.

I have at times wondered why Celebrity did not make a ship with mostly suites...

[D C]

16 hours ago, RichYak said:

This is interesting in that there is no Premium Large Ship segment. The premiums are all smaller ships. LLP may have tried to fill a void that ultimately had no demand resulting in full "retreat" (pun intended). Now she's repositioning X against the other mass market lines with pricing that makes no sense.

Exactly what I was thinking. "what the heck is the Premium Large Ship segment". Sounds like something someone made up in order to sell the nonsense on a chart in their ppt presentation. 

[tfred]

19 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I have at times wondered why Celebrity did not make a ship with mostly suites...

X didn’t but the Royal Caribbean group did. It’s called Silversea 

 

suites are sold out here on Apex this week. Pax obviously want a suite experience with big ship amenities. Big shows Big casino Big spa.  Can’t get that energy on Silversea 

[D C]

21 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I have at times wondered why Celebrity did not make a ship with mostly suites...

I have a feeling that a decent number of suite guests wouldn't like an all-suite ship. The exclusivity of being in a suite seems to be important to some people. 

[RichYak]

25 minutes ago, D C said:

I have a feeling that a decent number of suite guests wouldn't like an all-suite ship. The exclusivity of being in a suite seems to be important to some people. 

I like nice things because they’re nice, not because they’re nicer than other people’s things. 

[D C]

Just now, RichYak said:

I like nice things because they’re nice, not because they’re nicer than other people’s things. 

Agreed, but I'm not sure that applies to everyone, or everyone that posts here. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

13 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I like nice things because they’re nice, not because they’re nicer than other people’s things. 

I understand but there are a lot of people that enjoy being in an upper class.

[RichYak]

3 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

I understand but there are a lot of people that enjoy being in an upper class.

Sorry I can't wrap my head around this.

 

Lets say there are 2 planes that fly from point A to point B at exactly the same time. One is all biz class and the other is biz + coach. You're saying there are people that would rather fly the second plane in biz for the same price only because there are people in coach in the back?

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

Sorry I can't wrap my head around this.

 

Lets say there are 2 planes that fly from point A to point B at exactly the same time. One is all biz class and the other is biz + coach. You're saying there are people that would rather fly the second plane in biz for the same price only because there are people in coach in the back?

Yep

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Yep

[D C]

6 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Sorry I can't wrap my head around this.

 

Lets say there are 2 planes that fly from point A to point B at exactly the same time. One is all biz class and the other is biz + coach. You're saying there are people that would rather fly the second plane in biz for the same price only because there are people in coach in the back?

Exactly. 

[1Virgo]

Home from Equinox sailing.   We were in Aqua so, never ate in MDR in evening or OVC.   We did have lunch in OCV and the complaints we overheard about the food!.   One that stood out was lack of cheese.   You really had to hunt for it.  Being someone with a serious food allergy, I usually head for rolls, cheese and fruit.   No Brie,  no Camembert.  Maybe 10 pieces put out of some nonidentified sliced rubber

In Aqua what hit us were the toiletries.   I do understand X wanting to reduce their environmental impact but…..   gone were the small bottles of shampoo, body wash etc.    Instead, large pump style bottles in the shower on a shelf above.  Awkward to pump if you are short.  they naturally are refillable, but they are not tamper proof, nor sanitary as easy to take top off and remove pump

 

Entertainment.   Sure not of the calibre we were used to, with the exception of one band brought in.  

 

In the past, water bottles were available to get on the way out for a port day.  That was gone. Again, maybe trying to not impact the port with plastic bottles.  We did hear people asking where the water bottles were as accustomed to grabbing one on the way out

 

Wifi was terrible so paid to upgrade

 

Too many cutbacks, too quickly

[Pinboy]

12 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

I understand but there are a lot of people that enjoy being in an upper class.

LOL--- So, one day we were chatting with a couple after lunch at the Spa Café .Never met them before . After a bit of " small talk ", the lady asked what room we were staying in ( Verandah -- 8th floor ).

I'm thinking " What's the difference ? Just tell me if you like the food, how many cruises ya been on, yes we do get a lot of snow, and it's very nice that your granddaughter graduated 1st in her class, etc etc".

Purposely, we did not ask where their room is , yet , immediately she " pipped up " that they were in a suite ( can't remember what level ) and would we like to see it ?

" No thanks---maybe another time ". What the hell do I care where their room is ?

Then, I started to think  -----  Maybe they----NO---she can't mean that !!