Celebrity at a crossroads

[cgolf1]

10 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

I've been looking at cruises for Fall 2024 or late Winter 2025 and none of the lines (Princess, HAL, NCL, and Celebrity) that I've looked at have been good values per se. But, then again, I wasn't look at insides because hubby has always insisted on at least a balcony. With the prices I'm seeing, I'm thinking you have the right attitude.

 

And, it's absolutely a cost-benefit analysis that everyone must do for themselves. I have 3 cruises booked currently, two on Celebrity and our first on HAL. I'm willing to give other lines a try, but so far Celebrity is still our favorite (with the Beyond our favorite ship).

 

Our 2025 Reflection cruise without the perks was a little over 120 per person per night and they added a 550 OBC. That is after taxes and port fees. Back to our Disney days we liked to keep it in the 120 to 130 range PPPN, but that was before taxes and port fees were added. A 2025 on the Beyond was 127 PPPN without the perks. For us that is super affordable. We ultimately went with the Reflection to try an S class ship.

 

I do understand that insides are not for everyone just as the retreat level isn't either. We did the Disney retreat level rooms twice, and it just wasn't for us. We apparently are too simple or something because we didn't use the extra services that were available to us. We only did it twice because my mom who sailed with us in a separate room with our daughter wanted to try it too. The first time we did it one room had opened up and we were able to upgrade for a very cheap price.

Edited March 20, 2023 by cgolf1

[redjetz]

We never take cruises of just 7 days in the Caribbean. The one time we did that a few years ago on Celebrity, we were very surprised by the behavior of a large group of fellow passengers who were just there to party, loudly and sometimes rudely. On longer X cruises, there may be an occasional instance, but normally not.

[cachouonacruise]

We sailed 5 times on Celebrity including twice post pandemic: Silhouette, June 2022 and Millenium during our March Break ( 4-11, 2023).

 

I do not normally spend a lot of time in the pool area, this said, on our last cruise, the last day was a sea day and we enjoyed the pool and its area for a while. We really had a good time! 

 

I must be very lucky because, the Celebrity Staff I wet were all very courteous and professional, no exceptions.... And I have to say, that the passengers we met, were also all very, very nice and friendly. I did not witness any impolite, or otherwise unacceptable behaviour by anyone. Mind you, I don't spend much time observing other people. The offensive behaviour would have to be very loud or directly directed at me for me to notice!

 

In conclusion, some shorter sailings, or times of the year, e.g. March Break may be more at risk to involve discourteous people, but I really doubt that this phenomenon would only impact Celebrity.

 

 

[binro01]

Spring Break + St. Patricks Day can cause a difference in passenger profile makeup and proclivities. In general, whenever there is free flowing alcohol there is a potential to get a few of the "angry/rude drunk" profiles, no matter the venue or place.

I can usually spot people that fall into that archetype pretty easily, so I just tend to reposition myself away from them.

I also tend to make friends quickly and find spots that work for the vibe I want. If I spot someone who is passed out, I find a new spot for me. It's a big ship. If there is a group of very boisterous people, depending on my mood and wants, sometimes it's fun to people watch them or sometime I retreat to a more quiet location if that's my desire.

 

I personally do not look for a homogenized experience. I like variety. Sometimes I want more energy and a more festive vibe, sometimes I want a chill and quiet space with beautiful views and a comfy chair.

I like that Celebrity can offer many different opportunities according to my mood. But I guess that's just the life of a Gemini.

[odyssyus]

17 minutes ago, JFontaine said:

You lost me on people who eat fried food and are barely able to stand. You do realize you are on a ship with thousands of people and not a yacht with your version of how people should look, right? 

you gotta watch out for that band of miscreants eating fried food!.. those ne'er do wells'!

[binro01]

4 minutes ago, odyssyus said:

you gotta watch out for that band of miscreants eating fried food!.. those ne'er do wells'!

 

[Tyler414]

"people who absolutely reeked of cigarettes everywhere"  Not sure what that even means, but yes there are a lot of people who stink, not sure how that is Celebrity's fault.

My 2022 Apex cruise was during St. Patrick's day (didn't ever realize until a week before we left) I booked 4 more Celebrity cruises because of the awesome experience on that cruise.  Unfortunately my January cruise on Beyond was completely different.  Boring, bad drinks, pathetic dinner options in OVC, pool deck could've hosted funerals.

[Tapi]

2 hours ago, JLS07 said:

Just for some perspective, I am mid to late 40’s, been sailing Celebrity for 12ish years…  I have only ever sailed Celebrity (other than one Carnival to Havana).

Just my humble opinion. Cruise lines are always changing and evolving, but we also change and evolve as we age. If what you’ve been doing is no longer satisfying you, you may have “outgrown” them. Definitely try something else, not only cruise lines, but also itineraries, ports of embarkation, etc. 

 

The stuff that I put up with (and many times didn’t even notice) when I cruised in my 20’s is very different than what I put up with  now in my 40’s. Carnival was awesome at one point in time in my life. Then Royal Caribbean was great, etc, Now I’ve reached a point where I have zero desire to be loyal to a single cruise line and my goal is to try as many cruise lines as I possibly can. The result is that I’m always excited about trying something new rather than looking back at “the way things used to be”.

 

In the last decade, I’ve introduce myself to several cruise lines. In addition to Carnival and Royal, I’ve also sailed on Holland America, Princess, Disney, MSC, Celebrity, and in a few months, P&O. Next year I’m looking at the brand new Explora Journeys. 
 

Every new cruise line I try has provided a wonderful, fresh, new experience. I humbly suggest that maybe you try this approach. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Tapi

[Kiwifruit]

Whilst I agree that standards have slipped across the board in this post Covid era I would suggest that the problems encountered by the OP on Celebrity are the exception rather than the rule.
 

I’ve done many cruises on Celebrity (including two last year) and have never faced any such issues and the problems identified by the OP relate to passenger behaviour rather than the cruise line itself, although admittedly the offering of alcohol packages no doubt exacerbates the situation.

 

For what it’s worth there are a number factors that I weigh up when I’m choosing a cruise as personally I’m not drawn to the “party ship” environment where you are most likely to be confronted with the behaviour that the OP complains about. These  include:

- length of cruise: shorter cruises attract a younger (or young at heart) demographic that are more focussed on partying.

- destination: the party crowd are more attracted to warmer destinations such as the Caribbean than they are to cooler climes such as Alaska.

- timing: if you choose to travel over the holiday periods including spring break then it increases the odds of your cruise being a “party cruise”

- embarkation port: US ports are more accessible and cheaper to reach so cruises starting from these ports have a greater attraction to those wanting to party.

- cruise line: the smaller and more expensive the ship the less likely it is to be a “party ship”

You could take the exact same ship and crew but your experience on a 4 night Caribbean cruise out of Miami over Spring Break would be a vastly different experience to taking a 13 night TransPacific cruise out of Tokyo. It’s your fellow passengers that dictate the experience you have so whether you’re a party person or more of a recluse you should take these factors into account when determining what is the right cruise for you.

 

 

[chamima]

3 hours ago, JLS07 said:

I have written and rewritten this post several times.  I know this is likely going to upset some people, and I am sorry for that.

 

Just for some perspective, I am mid to late 40’s, been sailing Celebrity for 12ish years, have a 16- and 10-year-old that have been on every cruise they could have gone on (10 or so for my daughter and 8 for my son).  I have only ever sailed Celebrity (other than one Carnival to Havana).

 

As the title says, I think Celebrity is at a crossroads for which direction they should go.  We have always loved the elegance and higher class on Celebrity, but the last two cruises (both Apex and post covid) have seen a significant decrease across the board.

 

To me, celebrity is currently trying too hard to fit into too many categories, be it the older crowd that doesn’t want kids around (you should see the nasty comments on our spring break cruise’s Facebook page), the family crowd, or the party crowd (never seen as many drunks on all my celebrity trips combined as I have the last two).

 

We have simply encountered a quality of people that we had never seen before on celebrity.  We encountered:  Multiple people passed out on St. Patrick’s Day by the pool (yes passed out - we were watching them start taking shots at breakfast), Eating as much fried this or that as physically possible all while barely able to stand, people who absolutely reeked of cigarettes everywhere, nasty rude people who snapped back at anyone around them (one lady snapped at me when I offer her a seat on a particularly rough sea day).

 

We have two more cruises already booked and paid for over the summer.  I will use those as one more chance to determine if Celebrity is still what we want to continue travel on.  

 

If you have considered moving from Celebrity due to the drop in quality, which lines did you consider as a replacement?

 

 

We are just off of 38 days on the Equinox and I couldn't agree with you more.

The crew couldn't have been nicer or more accommodating and being on the ship that long we got close to some of them - they noticed it too.

I wrote in all 4 of my post cruise surveys that if this is the vibe Celebrity is looking to promote then we are looking for other cruiselines for the future.

 

[Aprile]

Sailed on Solstice in early December 2022 on an 8-night Mexican Riviera... one of the most enjoyable cruises we've ever taken. None of the behavior you listed. Met a lot of wonderful passengers, ship was spotless, and the staff was awesome. We enjoyed it so much that we immediately booked a Bermuda cruise with a large group of friends this summer on Summit.

 

We sailed Celebrity a few other times pre-COVID (Sky Suite or balcony) and I agree with others who have said passenger demographics depend largely on the itinerary and time of year. Europe is always more formal and reserved, but equally enjoyable.

 

I'm really at a loss regarding a potential replacement cruise line suggestion for you. Viking is amazing but all passengers must be 18+. Virgin Voyages is also adults-only. We love HAL but it caters to a more mature crowd. Azamara, perhaps? We haven't tried them yet, but that seems like it might be a good fit for your family. RC just sold them off recently, though, and I haven't read anything about how they are under new ownership.

 

Good luck in your search!

 

 

[helen haywood]

We just sailed a 7 night cruise on Reflection March 5-12.  Saw none of the behavior the OP described.  (Of course I certainly believe he did encounter it.)  So I don’t think what he described is the Celebrity norm by any means.  But trying new/different lines is always a good idea if one is discontent.  Before Celebrity had Equinox sailing year round from Florida, when I wanted a Caribbean cruise in September I tried out NCL and MSC and thoroughly enjoyed both.  Different menus!  Difference shows!!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We were on an 8 day cruise on Reflection over New Year.  If ever an opportunity to see drunk and stupid this would be it.  We did not see any objectionable behavior, including eating fried food.

[BazingAu]

While I fault Celebrity for many other things (mostly the great cost-cutting of 2023), I don't think viewing them from spring break/St. Patrick's Day lens is a fair assessment of "who" the line attracts. The spring break crowd is completely different than any other crowd all year, even factoring in summer or New Year crowds as you tend to get more families to balance it out. I personally never travel to anywhere warm during spring break (i.e. beaches, cruises, etc.) just because I don't like hanging around that crowd on my holidays - been there and done that decades ago! Let them have their fun, and you can travel elsewhere during that season. They are likely *not* going on Alaskan or Northern route cruises, so go north instead of south. You can go south any other time of year and avoid the spring break crowd.

Edited March 20, 2023 by BazingAu

[Spif Barwunkel]

Celebrity is certainly not at a crossroads, they know exactly in which direction they want to go and to whom they want to appeal. Admittedly, the Edge Class ships are intended to attract Gen X and Gen Y, but not at the expense of losing the older generation of cruisers. In order to remain relevant and continue to provide an appealing product, Celebrity must evolve in its ships presentations without devolving in its overall attempt to provide familiarity and the best cruising experience. Across the entire cruiser demographic there will be those who like and those who dislike, those who adapt and those who cannot, those who help to provide a pleasant cruising experience for all and those who do not.

 

Celebrity is not trying to fit into any category. X provides a means of recreation and relaxation, and there are many non-X factors that can affect the overall experience. Within the cruising population “a quality of people” that has always been there will continue to occasionally ruin a good thing.  

[PTC DAWG]

I have been on 3 Celebrity cruises since the restart...I haven't seen the behavior you speak of myself.  I sail 2-3 lines mainly....Celebrity, NCL and MSC....YC in MSC.  No issues so far.  Sailing NCL for the first time since restart April 1...I am expecting a rowdier crowd...we made the dates work around family members with a child in school.  Managing expectations helps.

 

I will continue to sail Celebrity in the future.  I enjoy the product.  Wife and I have a suite booked on Ascent Jan of 2024.  This will be my first suite experience on Celebrity. 

[hcat]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

We haven't seen passed out drunks what we have seen is a difference in the 1st time X cruisers.

 

On 1 side we have seen more passengers in their late 30's to early 50's, still working, well dressed, articulate, polite and fun to be around.

 

On the other side we have seen more passengers in the 20's - 40's dressed in muscle shirts, daisy dukes, t-shirts with profanity or gym clothes in all areas of the ship in the evening.  Behavior -  order a drink slapping by their hand on the bar & yelling Hey You, having water fights in the pool, disrespecting the crew and talking down to older passengers.

 

Hoping more of the 1st group drive out the 2nd group.

Well said.

We hope Celebrity reclaims itself as a modern luxury brand...good to excellent  food, music , lectures, and fun without the trashy element..Folks who love to cruise and meet  others who feel the same!

[JLS07]

3 hours ago, C4HCG said:

Not sure you can blame Celebrity for how fellow passengers behave. You might say they should clamp down on them but in todays woke environment they probably daren’t for fear of bad publicity, organisations have to tread so carefully nowadays. We’ve sailed twice on celebrity last year and saw none of the behaviour you describe, worst we had was queue jumpers. Sailing again in September and will hopefully have similar experiences.

I disagree for a couple reasons:

 

1) bluntly most of the people that stood out would be those that hate the “woke” crowd. Case in point the man wearing the shirt that said “F Joe and Hunter” on it. I mean I don’t like them but I also don’t like that shirt. Celebrity  shouldn’t have allowed a shirt like that to be worn around the ship (the F part not the Biden part). 
 

2) celebrity can easily do 3 things and change the crowd quickly. 
  1) increase prices by 20-25% and bring back quality food in the MDR and buffet.

  2) limit smoking to one location. Most of the time I can’t even go to the sunset bar due to the smell. 
  3) enforce clothing requirements. Case in point. There was a gentleman in front of us at a MDR that had pressed golf shorts and a nice polo tucked in with a belt. Very presentable for non-chic night. He was turned away for his clothing. Fine - shorts aren’t welcome. However, a mid aged woman walked out at the same time with daisy ducks barely covering her butt and a spaghetti top that let you see a lot more than you should. My wife walked to the hostess and said “How is that okay?  Her attire bothers me a lot more.”  The reply “We only have a dress code for men.  Women can wear what they want.”

 

If you do those three things then the quality of the customers change quickly. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by JLS07

[Gia2cats]

While I certainly don’t discount the OP’s experience, it’s surprising to me that so many people reeked of smoke. There are only 2 areas where people can smoke on the ship and certainly not in the casino or any indoor areas, such as rooms. Did the staff ignore smoking in prohibited areas? 
We are sailing on the Reflection next weekend and I’d hate this to be our experience. Are these things more common on the newer ships, I wonder?

[odyssyus]

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

Just my humble opinion. Cruise lines are always changing and evolving, but we also change and evolve as we age. If what you’ve been doing is no longer satisfying you, you may have “outgrown” them. Definitely try something else, not only cruise lines, but also itineraries, ports of embarkation, etc. 

 

The stuff that I put up with (and many times didn’t even notice) when I cruised in my 20’s is very different than what I put up with  now in my 40’s. Carnival was awesome at one point in time in my life. Then Royal Caribbean was great, etc, Now I’ve reached a point where I have zero desire to be loyal to a single cruise line and my goal is to try as many cruise lines as I possibly can. The result is that I’m always excited about trying something new rather than looking back at “the way things used to be”.

 

In the last decade, I’ve introduce myself to several cruise lines. In addition to Carnival and Royal, I’ve also sailed on Holland America, Princess, Disney, MSC, Celebrity, and in a few months, P&O. Next year I’m looking at the brand new Explora Journeys. 
 

Every new cruise line I try has provided a wonderful, fresh, new experience. I humbly suggest that maybe you try this approach. 

[sanger727]

3 hours ago, jelayne said:

Many of us enjoy drinking just not fall down drunks.  Smoking is limited to a few areas of the ship and as long your family doesn't smoke in other areas you shouldn't be worried.

 

 

Eh, once someone smokes a cigarette they reek of the smell for quite a while. A group that smokes is unpleasant to be around in an inside environment. Not suggesting that there is a good alternative other than smoke free cruise lines. But as a non-smoker, it is immediately apparent when someone who smoked recently walks into a room.

[Jeremiah1212]

The family/kid thing will always be a hot debate. Celebrity doesn't do much to appeal to families with kids but people still bring them on. Some love it, some hate it. 

 

Some of the first time crowd is partially driven by the cheap prices offered during the midst of COVID. That will eventually wash through. Will they return any time soon? I doubt it. Traveling with kids during spring break season isn't the best time to really get a fully representative experience either. 

 

Ultimately if you are looking for a high brow experience, a mass market cruise line isn't it. Especially during spring break. 

[dlh015]

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

Just my humble opinion. Cruise lines are always changing and evolving, but we also change and evolve as we age. If what you’ve been doing is no longer satisfying you, you may have “outgrown” them. Definitely try something else, not only cruise lines, but also itineraries, ports of embarkation, etc. 

 

The stuff that I put up with (and many times didn’t even notice) when I cruised in my 20’s is very different than what I put up with  now in my 40’s. Carnival was awesome at one point in time in my life. Then Royal Caribbean was great, etc, Now I’ve reached a point where I have zero desire to be loyal to a single cruise line and my goal is to try as many cruise lines as I possibly can. The result is that I’m always excited about trying something new rather than looking back at “the way things used to be”.

 

In the last decade, I’ve introduce myself to several cruise lines. In addition to Carnival and Royal, I’ve also sailed on Holland America, Princess, Disney, MSC, Celebrity, and in a few months, P&O. Next year I’m looking at the brand new Explora Journeys. 
 

Every new cruise line I try has provided a wonderful, fresh, new experience. I humbly suggest that maybe you try this approach. 

Nicely put. Variety is, indeed, the spice of life. 

 

Us Geminis know that...right, @binro01 ?

[Cruising89143]

I think that we’re seeing a different kind of cruiser lately from websites like urcomped. The casino has been sending out invites left and right and certain companies send out offers for Celebrity almost weekly. So for the cost of taxes and fees some guests are getting a bargain and many are trying X for the first time due to those type offers. I see it on FB all of the time. As ships fill up, offers will slow down. This is now happening on RCI. 

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

I started cruising with Celebrity back in 1991 on the Horizon. I have taken 12 Celebrity cruises, including four after the pandemic (Summit, July 2021; Reflection, Feb. 2022; Apex, April 2022; and Beyond, Feb. 2023). All of these were seven-day Caribbean cruises. Celebrity certainly has changed over the years, but I honestly enjoyed my recent Celebrity cruises and did not encounter any bad behavior. I am 58 years old and think the newest Celebrity ships are stunning and offer a great cruise product. The entertainment and dining options on my recent cruise on the Beyond were excellent. I already have booked a cruise on the new Ascent for next year.

 

Chuck