Celebrity Management Undercover? 👀

[catgirl411]

1 hour ago, 1Virgo said:

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

Seems like lots of hotels are using the pump bottles and Princess has them too. I think the changes are partly cost but partly to attempt to be more environmentally responsible. As for bottled water on Oceania they give you a refillable water bottle and that works well. I do agree that the pump bottles (at least the ones I’ve used)are somewhat awkward to get enough out of them because the pumps don’t extend far enough outside the wall bracket to get your hand under them properly.

[shipshape sam]

On 1/22/2023 at 9:16 AM, BridgeMates said:

Based on all the negative comments regarding food options lately, perhaps Ms. Perloff and staff might consider going "undercover"on a few different cruises to find out for themselves exactly what the complaints are all about.  Altho the CEO would most likely be recognized and it's hard to believe she could be treated like any regular passenger, I'm thinking there are other responsible people who could travel freely without being known.....no special treatment.....just be regular guests.

It's time for Celebrity to "go to the border,  oops.... the scene of the crime" and find out for themselves what they can do to stem the bad publicity they're getting.  Maybe it can be "fixed" economically with a few changes in restaurant menus.  Obviously you can't please all the people all the time, but since Celebrity is one of my favorites,  I sure hope they'll get back to being my go-to first cruise line.  

Celebrity Management......Get Out There!! 🥸

 

 

Just off Beyond and I did not find any issues with food in any of the venues.  Would have liked a second lobster, but they had plenty of escargots in the main dining rooms.  

 

It is interesting how people can experience the same dining and food offering and have wide differences in their approval.  Our service was great.  Our food was very good in MDR.  Did have a couple of small hiccups but the best measure for us of the service was how fast they responded to make us happy. We did not miss eating in a Speciality Dining Restaurant this cruise due to level of food quality and service.  I will for sure agree there is a difference between MDR and speciality dining, but do not see the value/cost proposition IMHO at least on our sailing on Beyond.

 

[Ipeeinthepools]

36 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

….

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 !!

 

 

Maybe so, I’ll bet Pinboy still looks pretty good.  Perhaps they had some pineapples on the door 😉

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, 1Virgo said:

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

On Equinox currently and today is an At Sea day so the OVC is packed for lunch.  Overall selections are good but I do agree with you about the cheese.  LOL.  There are a few pieces near the salad bar and a few at the hummus bar. Provolone, Swiss, Cheddar, American.  Standard cuts.  Not a large amount of any.  I have seen fancier cheeses in the Retreat Lounge at afternoon tea time.  That’s it.  Not sure what the deal is with providing cheese!😟  they have plenty of everything else.

[Mickey S]

We tend to look at or class of booking by looking at the entire "value" proposition.

Eg, we booked in Balcony for a 2019 TA, however when the price of Aqua came down to somehting like 300 for th e two of us more than balcony, it was a no brainer.

 

Same for suites, now retreat. a per day price is the determining factor and we are spoiled cause pre pandemic we were paying under 300 a day for aqua.  Our late 2020 cruises cancelled due to pandemic were 357 for aqua per day for both of us. Now for a TA abeit on Beyond Aqua  is over 600 a day.  and a suite is 1500 a day. 900 a day excess for the two of us is a stretch for the value received.

 

But going back to the management critque I mad a day or two ago, look at GE as an example.

GE under Jack Welch was a Juggernaut.

 

His success plan was to have 3 people compete  to be CEO

 

Jeff Immelt who one out, Bob Nardelli who lost and went to Home Depot  as CEO And James McNerney who went to 3m. At one point the company I wa at hired people who were trained " The GE Way" but that was a flop as we had our company culture and they had theirs)

 

Immelt won out and it took him  10 years to drive the jaugnernaut nearly into the ground.

Nardelli went to Home Depot  to add "professional" management to the guys who started up the company and knew how thinsgs should  be. Took him 2 years to screw it up but on the upside his management contract got him 240 million large as severance.

 

The Big lscrew up  goes to McNerney. He first went to 3M and was excused after 3 years then went to Boeing and his claim to fame there was he was the decision maker on the 737-Max to not spend 50 billion to redesign the fuseloge which led to the problems with wings and engines being redesigned which screwed up airflow and they jury rigged it via the  software that was less than perfect. Heck, why worry, its only a problem when the plane is airborn.

 

These were allegedly top guys in busness world and they screwed up big time. They lost customer focus (I think GE sold its jet engine business to raise cash).

 

How many other companies (or government agencies) are run by people under the Peter Principal, where their reputations exceed their skills, and that applies to an entire management team, or even a segment of economy like Travel and Liesure or cruising.

 

The Pandemic and Lockdown exposed these type of people. And thats why companies lose sight of a great business strategy--customer satisfaction focus.

 

And with X while there might be a couple of big issues now, dissatsfaction brings out all the stuff thats been deemed to be no big deal, but a bunch of no big deals add up.

And I think they are just trying  things or a trial and error basis .

 

Or the axiom, " if you throw enough stuff on the wall sooner or later something wil stick )or something good happens" .

 

My opinion but it all boils down to management teams  and pre pandemic, these folks inherited companies doing well and the wrong changes were made.

 

BTW-Viking is privately owned so they do not need to be concerned with quarterly earnings --and their sharehoders are really involved. Is that part of the difference?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by Mickey S

[Pinboy]

33 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

I’ll bet Pinboy still looks pretty good

You lose !!

So, I'm sitting at the Solarium pool--- and next to me is----- so, I start thinking , er dreaming,---trust me--she wasn't thinking the same thing. 

Mind you , she did ask for a piece of pineapple to be put into her drink--- if that meant anything.

Now, back to whether there is XYZ at the buffet.

[OysterD]

2 hours ago, 1Virgo said:

 

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.

 

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

 

Too many cutbacks, too quickly

 

The pump bottles of shampoo etc in AQ have been there since at least last Sept and I'm all in favour of them. I can't stand little bottles of toiletries, the amount of plastic waste from them is ridiculous. 

 

Same with plastic bottles, they've not been giving those out for a while and again, I'm really glad they aren't. You get metal water containers in AQ every day, no need for plastic. These aren't 'cuts' as I'm certain the metal water containers cost more than plastic. Also look at it from the standpoint of many of the ports/islands ships stop at, why should they have to deal with the waste from millions of plastic water bottles being left behind from cruise ship passengers. A lot of the islands/countries won't have decent recycling systems in place so millions of plastic bottles will end up in landfill. 

[catgirl411]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

On Equinox currently and today is an At Sea day so the OVC is packed for lunch.  Overall selections are good but I do agree with you about the cheese.  LOL.  There are a few pieces near the salad bar and a few at the hummus bar. Provolone, Swiss, Cheddar, American.  Standard cuts.  Not a large amount of any.  I have seen fancier cheeses in the Retreat Lounge at afternoon tea time.  That’s it.  Not sure what the deal is with providing cheese!😟  they have plenty of everything else.

 

49 minutes ago, OysterD said:

 

The pump bottles of shampoo etc in AQ have been there since at least last Sept and I'm all in favour of them. I can't stand little bottles of toiletries, the amount of plastic waste from them is ridiculous. 

 

Same with plastic bottles, they've not been giving those out for a while and again, I'm really glad they aren't. You get metal water containers in AQ every day, no need for plastic. These aren't 'cuts' as I'm certain the metal water containers cost more than plastic. Also look at it from the standpoint of many of the ports/islands ships stop at, why should they have to deal with the waste from millions of plastic water bottles being left behind from cruise ship passengers. A lot of the islands/countries won't have decent recycling systems in place so millions of plastic bottles will end up in landfill. 

Same on Princess for the cheese and part way through the cheddar texture changed and it was like Velveeta! Tasted disgusting!

[MamaFej]

4 hours ago, Pinboy said:

 

Mind you , she did ask for a piece of pineapple to be put into her drink--- if that meant anything.

 

Did she ask for it to be put in upside-down?

[Pinboy]

55 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

Did she ask for it to be put in upside-down?

Never heard -- 

All I remember was that her bathing suit reminded me to get new laces for my golf shoes when we get home.

 

[C4HCG]

On 1/25/2023 at 4:01 PM, jules27556 said:

I agree about future bookings.

 

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

avoid disappointment.😞

Only if you believe the negativity on here.

[C4HCG]

8 hours ago, 1Virgo said:

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

Personally none of what you complain about would bother me in the slightest but recognise we’re all different. The one that intrigues me is entertainment. We rarely go to the theatre as very little they have on appeals to us, but would be interested to know what you mean.

[lahlah57]

6 hours ago, Pinboy said:

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 !!

 

 

Ewwwww! 😳

[randomcruise]

34 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

Only if you believe the negativity on here.

I am not sure what there is not to believe.  The requirement to pay for room service for anything other than a continental breakfast can be seen with one's own eyes on the Celebrity App and has been verified by multiple posters here, complete with pictures of the Room Service menu showing the pay items.  The reduction in offerings in the MDR can also be seen in the current menus in the Celebrity App compared to the prior menus in the Celebrity App, and have also been verified by several posters here and elsewhere.  The reduction in offerings in the evening buffet can't be seen in the app but again have been verified by multiple posts, some including pictures or video, here and elsewhere. I suppose one could still choose not to believe all of those cutbacks are not real despite the overwhelming evidence they exist, but I don't know why one would do so. 

[1Virgo]

2 hours ago, C4HCG said:

Personally none of what you complain about would bother me in the slightest but recognise we’re all different. The one that intrigues me is entertainment. We rarely go to the theatre as very little they have on appeals to us, but would be interested to know what you mean.

my complaint was more re the toiletries. I have 2 plates in my collarbone. lifting/raising my arm difficult

I reported what we overheard   

[Bo1953]

On 1/28/2023 at 10:54 AM, Pinboy said:

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 !!

pb you have taken the bait...

 

That would have made for great conversation with friends after returning home!!! LOL

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

I do want to point out that one of our prolific posters, on this topic, started one similar on another board with disastrous (IMO) replies there, yet I have not read here (unless I missed it) where current/recent passengers report that there are cutbacks, poor service, illnesses being reported of gastro intestinal disturbances from eating at the buffet and named dishes which did not meet expectations...

 

I take it that when postings did not confirm suspicion that this situation was exclusive to X, no need to talk about the findings here...

 

Talking about contrasting and comparing....

 

Anyone hear of noro virus, currently, spreading on X's ships? I Am sure it could be to some degree, but not posted here yet... this was reported on the posters thread in at least one (1) instance.

 

The issue for me here, is the un-even handedness of addressing X's cutbacks and not reporting back on other lines especially when a 'specific' thread was created there for this.

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

[RichYak]

36 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

I do want to point out that one of our prolific posters, on this topic, started one similar on another board with disastrous (IMO) replies there, yet I have not read here (unless I missed it) where current/recent passengers report that there are cutbacks, poor service, illnesses being reported of gastro intestinal disturbances from eating at the buffet and named dishes which did not meet expectations...

The GI issues in that thread are being reported from only 1 ship. Concerning for sure, but not fleet wide.

 

Here are some of the "cut-back" complaints in that thread for perspective vs Celebrity:

 

• No Cholula hot sauce
• No HP steak sauce
• Diet coke was difficult to find
• Brisket/roast beef instead of corned beef on the reuben sandwich
• Whipped cream instead of clotted cream for the scones
• The oysters were too small

 

I'm not sure if I would characterize these replies as disastrous but I guess you view things through a different lens. It's probably the same lens that causes you to miss all of the current/recent passenger reports of cutbacks on this board.

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

The GI issues in that thread are being reported from only 1 ship. Concerning for sure, but not fleet wide.

 

Here are some of the "cut-back" complaints in that thread for perspective vs Celebrity:

 

• No Cholula hot sauce
• No HP steak sauce
• Diet coke was difficult to find
• Brisket/roast beef instead of corned beef on the reuben sandwich
• Whipped cream instead of clotted cream for the scones
• The oysters were too small

 

I'm not sure if I would characterize these replies as disastrous but I guess you view things through a different lens. It's probably the same lens that causes you to miss all of the current/recent passenger reports of cutbacks on this board.

 

It’s amazing what some people complain about.  This morning I watched some guy complain to the staff that he ordered his eggs cooked over medium and they were cooked over hard,

[ldubs]

1 minute ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

It’s amazing what some people complain about.  This morning I watched some guy complain to the staff that he ordered his eggs cooked over medium and they were cooked over hard,

 

Huh, I wouldn't like cooked over hard fried eggs. I wouldn't eat them.   I do agree though that some complaints are hard to understand.  Of course, some just like to complain.    

[Ipeeinthepools]

3 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Huh, I wouldn't like cooked over hard fried eggs. I wouldn't eat them.   I do agree though that some complaints are hard to understand.  Of course, some just like to complain.    

Sure, if you don’t like them don’t eat them or return them.  But I don’t think it rises to the level where you are standing in the hallway in somebody’s face.

[ldubs]

4 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Sure, if you don’t like them don’t eat them or return them.  But I don’t think it rises to the level where you are standing in the hallway in somebody’s face.

 

Aw, the plot thickens.  "Hallway in somebody's face" is a little different than "complain to staff".   

[Bo1953]

6 hours ago, RichYak said:

The GI issues in that thread are being reported from only 1 ship. Concerning for sure, but not fleet wide.

 

Here are some of the "cut-back" complaints in that thread for perspective vs Celebrity:

 

• No Cholula hot sauce
• No HP steak sauce
• Diet coke was difficult to find
• Brisket/roast beef instead of corned beef on the reuben sandwich
• Whipped cream instead of clotted cream for the scones
• The oysters were too small

 

I'm not sure if I would characterize these replies as disastrous but I guess you view things through a different lens. It's probably the same lens that causes you to miss all of the current/recent passenger reports of cutbacks on this board.

Not at all, I catch them and understand, fully, the reports of X's cutbacks.

 

My post was about the "reconnaissance" being done surreptitiously and not being referenced here, then again it is not about that after all, right?

 

Those issues for those passengers are not as valid as those for X passengers who miss foods we are accustomed to having aboard, I take it?

 

I think it is great that one would minimize another passengers concerns over another because the scenario is not the same, yet all the same complaints especially from passengers who decidedly pay a bit more for their sailing than the average X passenger does not matter vs expectation(s)? Valid or not.

 

Just as I view that X passengers have the right to complain about cutbacks over those made at RCL or Carnival... My perspective, to be sure, yet does that make it not a good complaint because I do not have a desire to sail those lines?

 

We forgot to mention the cheese issue, too... oh my!!!

 

Were I to test these types of postings on another forum, you can believe I would come back and report what I was reading compared to this one, good, bad or indifferent.

 

If we are making short shrift of those complaints, then complaints need to be short shrifted by those who believe they need be, also. IMO

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

Edited January 30, 2023 by Bo1953

[Bo1953]

4 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

It’s amazing what some people complain about.  This morning I watched some guy complain to the staff that he ordered his eggs cooked over medium and they were cooked over hard,

ip was that you??? LOL

 

Instead of re-ordering, it was easier to dress down a staff member... go figure.

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

[RichYak]

24 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Not at all, I catch them and understand, fully, the reports of X's cutbacks.

 

My post was about the "reconnaissance" being done surreptitiously and not being referenced here, then again it is not about that after all, right?

 

Those issues for those passengers are not as valid as those for X passengers who miss foods we are accustomed to having aboard, I take it?

 

I think it is great that one would minimize another passengers concerns over another because the scenario is not the same, yet all the same complaints especially from passengers who decidedly pay a bit more for their sailing than the average X passenger does not matter vs expectation(s)? Valid or not.

 

Just as I view that X passengers have the right to complain about cutbacks over those made at RCL or Carnival... My perspective, to be sure, yet does that make it not a good complaint because I do not have a desire to sail those lines?

 

We forgot to mention the cheese issue, too... oh my!!!

 

Were I to test these types of postings on another forum, you can believe I would come back and report what I was reading compared to this one, good, bad or indifferent.

 

If we are making short shrift of those complaints, then complaints need to be short shrifted by those who believe they need be, also. IMO

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

You have a habit of putting words in people's mouths, something you admitted doing to me last time and apologized for. I felt your apology was empty then, yet I accepted anyway, and here you are doing it again at your first opportunity, confirming its emptiness for me.

 

I didn't "minimize" anyone's concerns as you alleged. I merely listed them because all you provided was your "disastrous" interpretation, which I thought was excessive. I left it to anyone reading to draw their own conclusions.

 

Lastly, you are the one that chose to bring all the dirty laundry from that post here to the Celebrity board. I have no idea why, perhaps for your own surreptitious reasons, or maybe it's just personal. That post made no mention of comparisons to Celebrity, it was merely an isolated question posed on that board. Yet here we are...