Celebrity at a crossroads

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, Myrtle Ave. Mayhem said:

I'm DONE with the mass market lines that masquerade as premium. This includes Celebrity, Holland America, & Princess. Everything from new ship design, food, service, lack of attention to detail, constant gimmicky revenue production. Been cruising over 30 years & I think the lines I mentioned have become ghostly shadows of their former selves. 

 

Enter Viking Ocean! Higher price point, but worth every penny. It's as if the founder(Torstein Hagen) saw my personal wish list for a cruise line then went to work, creating Viking. 

That’s the path RCG actual wants their guests to take, when one is younger with kids you book RCI, once you’re empty nesters you move on to X and once you get sick of X you book SilverSeas

[Guest CunucuMom]

1 hour ago, catgirl411 said:

As Canadians, we try to stay well away from any topics that appear to lead to the minefield of US politics. The conversations with fellow passengers are always more interesting (and safer) when we talk about past cruise experiences (unless you encounter one of the chronically unhappy cruisers).

Excellent strategy!  Our wonderful neighbors to the north certainly have enough issues with which to deal without having to wade into our pool.  As for the unhappy cruisers....I'll have to find out for myself. 

[basenji56]

5 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

That’s the path RCG actual wants their guests to take, when one is younger with kids you book RCI, once you’re empty nesters you move on to X and once you get sick of X you book SilverSeas

Kind of like the old General Motors car sales model....

[basenji56]

2 minutes ago, CunucuMom said:

Excellent strategy!  Our wonderful neighbors to the north certainly have enough issues with which to deal without having to wade into our pool.  As for the unhappy cruisers....I'll have to find out for myself. 

From cruising, I have learned more about Canada and Canadian politics than I ever knew before.

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Kind of like the old General Motors car sales model....

Ha ha…On that topic, my last X sailing was last month on the Solstice and about a month later I was on the Carnival Panorama.  My last three new bookings have been on carnival. On the solstice they had one comedian do two shows on the same night and that was the main show for the night.  The magician was on a break so we got 6 nights of musical, which are the exact same production shows we’ve seen many times since X has the same shows (broken strings, rock city, life, etc) on all the M/S class ships.  On the Panorama, they had 4 comedians and stated there was 24 shows, DAY, evening and night.  You also had their production main musical show every night, trivia, karaoke, the main band in the atrium, a sing along piano bar which was shockingly a blast.  For the food, on carnival sea days you have the seaday brunch which bundles menu items of breakfast and lunch; it’s also open early until 1pm so you can eat when you want if you table service.  X’s Blu is open 90mins for breakfast and the MDR 90mins for lunch.  On X for lunch I’ve never paid for a specialty dining or stayed in a suite, so I only have the MDR, buffet, mast grill and spa cafe.  On carnival, the free BBQ lunch blows away any complimentary X offers for lunch; if one looks at X’s lunch offering they’ll see they’re not “gourmet” at all.  Carnivals Guys burgers are great while X’s mast grill isn’t worth the calories.  Many will say they don’t cruise for BBQ and burgers, but if they’re not in a suite, are they saying they cruise for X’s MDR/buffet lunch?  X does destroy carnival in the buffet, X’s MDR/Blu dinners while better than carnival but since the cutbacks it’s only marginally better.  So, I’m a rare example that X’s lack entrainment choices and declining food quality has me looking backwards at carnival and RCI

[catgirl411]

32 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

From cruising, I have learned more about Canada and Canadian politics than I ever knew before.

And we are happy to share if people are interested!

[SSFrance69]

1 hour ago, goofysmom99 said:

Since returning from my Summit cruises in February, I've been researching other options for my annual TAs.  What I've found is that the premium lines (Silversea and Regent) have low/no single supplements which put them the realm of possibility (I think 2013 was the last time I had a solo discount on a Celebrity TA).  The premium lines' all-suite offerings will cost approximately the same for solo as Aqua solo on X.  The menus in their restaurants look amazing.  I've cruised 90 days on X since the restart and become tired of the menus which haven't changed in ages, except maybe for a few cuts. I'll be checking Oceania next.  Point is, I had no idea I could afford the premium lines until discussions like this thread goaded me into looking. 

You'll love the food on Oceania. Best I've had at sea or at many fine restaurants on land.

[SSFrance69]

This was on Oceania's Riviera this month. Look at that Pancetta wrapped filet of veal with lobster tail Oscar style. No extra charges for specialty dining. Eat your heart out Celebrity. 

[NMTraveller]

6 minutes ago, SSFrance69 said:

This was on Oceania's Riviera this month. Look at that Pancetta wrapped filet of veal with lobster tail Oscar style. No extra charges for specialty dining. Eat your heart out Celebrity. 

OMG a real lobster and not a crawdad.

[SSFrance69]

2 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

OMG a real lobster and not a crawdad.

I posted a bunch of food photos on the Oceania board just a few mins ago. Come have a look and drool. Everything was so good! 

[bigbadandugly]

On 3/20/2023 at 1:27 PM, cgolf1 said:

We apparently are too simple or something because we didn't use the extra services that were available to us. 

I just booked my wife and I on a 2024 Rio cruise on the Eclipse, and I was deciding between a Deck 8 Balcony or an Aqua Class cabin, which included the basic drink and Internet packages and dining in Bleu and a few other bells and whistles. But in the end, we decided the extras didn't have have the value to us to justify the additional cost (although I must say we made that decision before experiencing the post-COVID MDR menu, which sounds like it was substantially downgraded for 2023). The drink package is now priced for alcoholics so I'm fine going a la carte and we can do with detaching from the Internet for a week.

 

But all-in-all I'm in agreement with OP that Celebrity has lost its edge and we will also be opening the door to other options.

[C4HCG]

4 minutes ago, bigbadandugly said:

 The drink package is now priced for alcoholics so I'm fine going a la carte and we can do with detaching from the Internet for a week.

 

But all-in-all I'm in agreement with OP that Celebrity has lost its edge and we will also be opening the door to other options.

I hope the comment on the drink package was tongue in cheek, if not then I will open that door for you. 

[bigbadandugly]

On 3/21/2023 at 9:03 AM, CruisingWalter said:

 

Celebrity still seems to be the same Celebrity it always has been... Still great service, food and ships.

Dude - they cut the prime rib and other prime cuts of beef from the MDR menu for 2023.  Enough said.

[Lastdance]

43 minutes ago, bigbadandugly said:

Dude - they cut the prime rib and other prime cuts of beef from the MDR menu for 2023.  Enough said.

I do not eat lobster or prime rib; allergic to one and the other has never appealed to me.  However, I certainly do not beat up on anyone that does. My favorite dishes might dwindle away too. However, I would definitely try Oceania, Viking and SilverSeas, along with a river cruise in the future, as I have been looking and reading other cruise venues, but not because I want to tell everyone  how great it is, as I can do that on their specific sites!  If it is time for a change, just go and do it; life is too short to spend time being unhappy...lots of people have left Cruise Critic for other boards regarding cruising for various reasons too.

 

~Dudette👩‍🦳

Edited March 26, 2023 by Lastdance

[NutsAboutGolf]

26 minutes ago, bigbadandugly said:

Dude - they cut the prime rib and other prime cuts of beef from the MDR menu for 2023.  Enough said.

In all fairness, they brought it back on at least on some sailings, it’s showing up on the first night for a Millie sailing next month and a summer Summit sailing.  I can confirm it was not on the Solstice last month

[Loracpin2]

2 hours ago, SSFrance69 said:

This was on Oceania's Riviera this month. Look at that Pancetta wrapped filet of veal with lobster tail Oscar style. No extra charges for specialty dining. Eat your heart out Celebrity. 

Oceania's Four Specialty Restaurants Toscana, Polo Grill, Jacques & Red Ginger are all FANTASTIC!!! It used to be the same quality on Celebrity before RCI acquired the line in 1997!!

[mayleeman]

Checked the Reflection menu on the app for both end of March this year and our actual cruise next Feb3. Both show prime rib (night 4) and lobster (5). They were missing a few weeks ago.

 

Fingers crossed.

[Arizona Wildcat]

8 hours ago, catgirl411 said:

Did Panama Canal 14 day December 2020 over Christmas and New Year’s on Emerald Princess. I was worried about whether there’d be masses of over excited kids but it was great. No problems at all. Perhaps it was the 14 day length or the cruise line or the itinerary but there weren’t all that many kids and the teenagers and college age kids were fine.

Hmmm.  Did the same Princess Cruise in 2022.  There were 250 kids under 12 and 250 teens.  Lots of running about.  Glad it was little ones that ran into me.  

Holiday and spring break cruises tend to be full!  Very full.

Did a prior cruise during spring break on X on West Coast.  Lots of college age passengers.  Fewer kids.  Lots quieter.

Would not choose either line for holidays or spring break.

[catgirl411]

Just now, Arizona Wildcat said:

Hmmm.  Did the same Princess Cruise in 2022.  There were 250 kids under 12 and 250 teens.  Lots of running about.  Glad it was little ones that ran into me.  

Holiday and spring break cruises tend to be full!  Very full.

Did a prior cruise during spring break on X on West Coast.  Lots of college age passengers.  Fewer kids.  Lots quieter.

Would not choose either line for holidays or spring break.

 

1 minute ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Hmmm.  Did the same Princess Cruise in 2022.  There were 250 kids under 12 and 250 teens.  Lots of running about.  Glad it was little ones that ran into me.  

Holiday and spring break cruises tend to be full!  Very full.

Did a prior cruise during spring break on X on West Coast.  Lots of college age passengers.  Fewer kids.  Lots quieter.

Would not choose either line for holidays or spring break.

Actually we did it in December 2022…2020 was a typo. Did you really see lots of kids? We didn’t…there was a large extended family of 26 that had a lot of teens and college age kids but other than the fact that they seemed to dominate Crooners some nights, they were okay.  Mind you we don’t spend much time on the pool deck and tend to eat later so maybe we just didn’t cross paths with them.

[JLS07]

1 hour ago, C4HCG said:

I hope the comment on the drink package was tongue in cheek, if not then I will open that door for you. 

Where is the lie in his statement?

 

it is about $25 a day for non-alcoholic drinks and $100+ for alcohol. So you have to have 5 drinks a day to cover the difference in pricing. 
 

That is a lot. 

[Cruising89143]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

In all fairness, they brought it back on at least on some sailings, it’s showing up on the first night for a Millie sailing next month and a summer Summit sailing.  I can confirm it was not on the Solstice last month

It’s on the menu in the MDR for next week for our Solstice sailing. I think it was recently added back.

[Swampbabe]

2 hours ago, bigbadandugly said:

Dude - they cut the prime rib and other prime cuts of beef from the MDR menu for 2023.  Enough said.

I had prime rib last week on Reflection. Enough said 🙄

[Swampbabe]

40 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

Checked the Reflection menu on the app for both end of March this year and our actual cruise next Feb3. Both show prime rib (night 4) and lobster (5). They were missing a few weeks ago.

 

Fingers crossed.

They were on there last week 

[redjetz]

1 hour ago, JLS07 said:

Where is the lie in his statement?

 

it is about $25 a day for non-alcoholic drinks and $100+ for alcohol. So you have to have 5 drinks a day to cover the difference in pricing. 
 

That is a lot. 

Two things - some people indulge more on vacation without being alcoholics.  Also, included in the package is bottled water, specialty coffees and juices.
 

Easy to have a couple specialty coffees before or after breakfast, a water during the morning, a beer or glass of wine with lunch, another couple bottles of watermelon at the pool, a pre dinner cocktail, a glass of wine wine with dinner. You will have hit the daily limit easily and not be buzzed at all, let alone drunk. 

 

Most of us wouldn’t do that daily at home, but easy to do on vacation, even if you clearly wouldn’t.

[DebInAntigua]

On 3/20/2023 at 11:26 AM, 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? 

Exactly. That comment changes the entire way I interpret the entire rest of the post. Oh my, I'm so sorry that other fat people like me aren't decorating your world in the way you believe you're entitled to!