Shocking - Looked At Current Cruise Critic Reviews

[NMTraveller]

48 minutes ago, ldtr said:

You kind of get the feeling that the topic was started with the intent of drawing in comments about how bad things are.

 

Kind of brings back the phrase that nobody goes there anymore it too busy.

Feel free to add your positive review here.  All are welcome.

 

Also add it to the CC reviews for your ship.

Edited June 4, 2023 by NMTraveller

[Shiba_Lover]

21 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

That was the one

mostly new staff, and it was their first cruise ,  a lot of cold food, and a lot people came down with Covid on the cruise 

We got covid on that one.  Wound up in quarantine after we self reported.  Got a  seconds cruise as we were still in quarantine when we got to Amsterdam. 🤣

[Ex-Airbalancer]

57 minutes ago, Shiba_Lover said:

We got covid on that one.  Wound up in quarantine after we self reported.  Got a  seconds cruise as we were still in quarantine when we got to Amsterdam. 🤣

Wife was in Covid jail for the 10 days ,she had terrible room service ! She had to wait hours to get food or drinks deliveries 

I was fine, but could only eat and drink in the cabin, for 5 days 

I would drop off food and drinks for her 

Than they took our passport and sent us on a 300€ cab ride to get them back 🙄

it was the trip from hell 

[Oceangoer2]

1 minute ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Wife was in Covid jail for the 10 days ,she had terrible room service ! She had to wait hours to get food or drinks deliveries 

I was fine, but could only eat and drink in the cabin, for 5 days 

I would drop off food and drinks for her 

Than they took our passport and sent us on a 300€ cab ride to get them back 🙄

it was the trip from hell 

Hope they reimbursed you for the cab ride!

[kirtihk]

On 6/3/2023 at 11:02 PM, ldtr said:

Just got back from 40 days in Europe.  One of several trips taken in the past 2 years.  Attitudes have changed since pre-covid.  We have seen tourists acting poorly in numbers far beyond what was normal in the past.  Far more complaints and rude behavior to hotel, restaurant and airline staff.  Rules ignored at tourist venues.  People upset with prices and because the prices are higher want a higher level of service.  Locals getting upset with massive crowds and tourists behaving badly.

Actually, mental health has changes (I "predicted" it along with dozens of other "predictions" while on the Ponant ship in March 8-24).  I put quotations marks, because, in reality, it was not a prediction but obvious inevitability.  So, we ignore the majority of reviews focusing on simple gratification.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Hope they reimbursed you for the cab ride!

They did 

[Obobru]

On 6/4/2023 at 6:17 AM, NMTraveller said:

My question is why are they so much lower?  

I think reading the reviews will give you the answer. Looking at a score won't tell you anything than it's gone down, read the reviews and find out why.

 

Not sure what the purpose of this whole thread is other than another none specific moan. 

Edited June 5, 2023 by Obobru

[Shiba_Lover]

8 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Wife was in Covid jail for the 10 days ,she had terrible room service ! She had to wait hours to get food or drinks deliveries 

I was fine, but could only eat and drink in the cabin, for 5 days 

I would drop off food and drinks for her 

Than they took our passport and sent us on a 300€ cab ride to get them back 🙄

it was the trip from hell 

Oh wow - the cab ride cost!  We did not have that issue.  They did take our passports, and we did have horrible room service.  We would order, and it took hours, then they would deliver our food - and we'd have no silverware.  We finally just kept silverware which we washed in the sink, salt/pepper shakers, a bottle of hot sauce etc.  Food was always cold.  We had a kettle and tea in the room so at least we had that.  They reimbursed us for the days of our cruise we missed, and we were back in the retreat when we got out of the covid floor - so I guess we survived 😂

[phoenix_dream]

As a long time Celebrity cruiser I don't generally read their reviews anymore.  But based on this thread I decided to take a look.  I specifically looked at reviews for the ships I have sailed recently.  I was honestly flabbergasted by some of what I read.  My experience compared to some of the long, ranting reviews was so different that I could not believe we were on the same ship!  Now I understand different people can have different experiences with room stewards and so on, but the rantings about the common elements (like buffet food, shows, bar service etc..) were just so far removed from what I experienced in almost all cases (of course like anyone we found a few bumps in the road here and there).  I don't even know what to comment anymore about that, but I know I will not be bothering to spend time reading those anymore and based solely on my own experiences (which is all I can honestly speak for) I sincerely hope people aren't scared away from Celebrity because of some of those awful reviews.

[NMTraveller]

52 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

As a long time Celebrity cruiser I don't generally read their reviews anymore.  But based on this thread I decided to take a look.  I specifically looked at reviews for the ships I have sailed recently.  I was honestly flabbergasted by some of what I read.  My experience compared to some of the long, ranting reviews was so different that I could not believe we were on the same ship!  Now I understand different people can have different experiences with room stewards and so on, but the rantings about the common elements (like buffet food, shows, bar service etc..) were just so far removed from what I experienced in almost all cases (of course like anyone we found a few bumps in the road here and there).  I don't even know what to comment anymore about that, but I know I will not be bothering to spend time reading those anymore and based solely on my own experiences (which is all I can honestly speak for) I sincerely hope people aren't scared away from Celebrity because of some of those awful reviews.

And I suppose that your experience is different because you are in a suite,  get to dine in Luminae,  and have the Retreat.  A much better and different experience avoiding most of the cutbacks.  How is your experience relevant to non-suite cruisers?

Edited June 6, 2023 by NMTraveller

[phoenix_dream]

18 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

And I suppose that your experience is different because you are in a suite,  get to dine in Luminae,  and have the Retreat.  A much better and different experience avoiding most of the cutbacks.  How is your experience relevant to non-suite cruisers?

And when did I ever say I only sailed in suites??  I've sailed in them a few times last year as the pricing was much better, but most often I sail in Aqua Class, but have also sailed in Concierge and Balcony.  So no, most often I do not get to dine in Luminae or have the Retreat.

[LMC]

The problem here is that everything is very subjective- I can love a particular meal and you can hate it.  I cruise because I love to cruise- and nothing in life is ever perfect.  If I didn't prepare the meal and don't have to clean up after it I will generally love it.  Perfection is a lofty goal---- and not easily attained!!!!

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, LMC said:

The problem here is that everything is very subjective- I can love a particular meal and you can hate it.  I cruise because I love to cruise- and nothing in life is ever perfect.  If I didn't prepare the meal and don't have to clean up after it I will generally love it.  Perfection is a lofty goal---- and not easily attained!!!!

Perfection is not something that is normally attained on a cruise.  There will be a miss,  but probably one that is fixed and handled well.  Yet we have Cheerleaders where everything is handled perfectly.  I have yet to be on such a cruise.  I have been on Celebrity prepandemic cruises where things were handled the best that they could possibly be.  And if there was a miss it was taken care of and fixed expeditiously.

 

Regarding subjectivity,  that is why you have the cruisers assigning rankings to various topics and you take the numbers and take the mean (average) over a large number of people.  That gives you a very good ballpark idea of how well the cruise ship is doing...  It filters out much of the subjectivity.

 

Other cruise lines ships numbers are down as well...  My opinion is that it is due to the cuts to pay off debt.

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by NMTraveller

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Perfection is not something that is normally attained on a cruise.  There will be a miss,  but probably one that is fixed and handled well.  Yet we have Cheerleaders where everything is handled perfectly.  I have yet to be on such a cruise.  I have been on Celebrity prepandemic cruises where things were handled the best that they could possibly be.  And if there was a miss it was taken care of and fixed expeditiously.

 

Regarding subjectivity,  that is why you have the cruisers assigning rankings to various topics and you take the numbers and take the mean (average) over a large number of people.  That gives you a very good ballpark idea of how well the cruise ship is doing...  It filters out much of the subjectivity.

 

Other cruise lines ships numbers are down as well...  My opinion is that it is due to the cuts to pay off debt.

 

My opinion is that it is due to 1. the difficulties during the restart with low occupancy meaning that many services were limited, the supply chain issues, and the crew staffing.  2. Changes in attitudes among the cruisers themselves with a tendency being much more demanding. 3. Cruisers that have decided for what ever reason during the restart that they want to move away from their old favorite and are trying other lines for the first time only to find that they are not their old favorite line and thus do not like them.

 

Cruises in prior to the last 6 months were substantially impacted, cruises in the past 6 months have been mostly back to normal.  Some changes but really not many.  Not much more different from 2019 that would normally occur during a 3 year period.  Not back 100%, but pretty much back most of the way.  Still some crew training issues, but venues open, operating and staffed. Entertainment acts back.  

[Z0nker]

I’ve been on CC for years and have noticed a change in the reviews. I think the pandemic turned a lot of people into “Karen’s” by leaving them with too much idle times on their hands. Any perceived slight and someone must be blamed. Cruise lines are an irresistibly big target.  Before COVID, there were some bad reviews, some for good reason and others out of sanctimonious self righteousness. Now, I agree that reviews overall, and especially the Top Ten forum, have gotten savage. 
 

We’ve cruised five times since cruising resumed and other than a few misfires on our first sailing, things have been fine for us. 

[retird]

On 6/3/2023 at 10:14 AM, NMTraveller said:

A 4.1 is a low average score for Celebrity.  Most Celebrity ships pre pandemic were a 4.5 or better.  My next Celebrity cruise is on a ship that ranks a 3.7.  When I purchase a product from Amazon,  a restaurant,  a hotel,  a 4.0 is my bottom line cut off point (I may not be thrilled with it but it will get the job done).  I have noticed that the other cruise ships have dropped significantly as well in their cruise rankings.

 

So therefore how do I compare ships across different lines and find the best ship?  I can do this easily on TripAdvisor.  I can find the best 10 or 20 hotels in a city.  How do I do this for cruise ships?  In years past we just accepted that Celebrity was the best value for our money and booked another cruise on the last cruise.  Celebrity does not seem to be producing that same consistency and product that we have all come to love as shown by the current review rankings..

Only sure way to be 100% accurate is to do one cruise on each one.  I seldom pay much attention to reviews as their is no way to tell if the writer is being honest.   I take all reviews with a grain of salt.   I try not to spend my hard earned money on things that strangers rate.  Now i do pay attention to reviews that friends write. 

[Tigerfnan23]

We enjoyed our two Celebrity cruises over the last year.  Unfortunately due to price increases we are booking land based travel for our vacations next year.  The days of Celebrity cruises being any real value, relative to other options, appear to have passed.  We hate to take a break from cruising, but there are many other ways to spend a week in an exotic locale for a good deal less.   Having said that, we experienced nothing on our cruises we would even remotely consider leaving a bad review over.  Loved them both.  

Edited June 8, 2023 by Tigerfnan23

[D. B.]

4 hours ago, Tigerfnan23 said:

We enjoyed our two Celebrity cruises over the last year.  Unfortunately due to price increases we are booking land based travel for our vacations next year.  The days of Celebrity cruises being any real value, relative to other options, appear to have passed.  We hate to take a break from cruising, but there are many other ways to spend a week in an exotic locale for a good deal less.   Having said that, we experienced nothing on our cruises we would even remotely consider leaving a bad review over.  Loved them both.  

It's human nature to Share any Bad experience than to Praise a Great one?

[cgolf1]

Along with the fact that many don't take the time to post a good review, me included but did write a nice thread on here, I think there is something else with Celebrity driving this. Two other boards I watch, a Disney board and the CC HAL board, both lines seem to be experiencing issues with service and cutbacks, with Disney being much more expensive than X. Yet despite this overall those boards are downright cheery and even the negative threads are tame.

 

The Celebrity board however has been very harsh, when the Edge came out and with the changes this year. Is it possible that Celebrity cruisers are more passionate and more vocal?

 

We sailed on the Edge this year and it wasn't perfect, but I was in critic mode and also trying to be objective. That said we determined that we still like the E class, but the second trip wasn't as magical, ship wise, as the first and we are off to an S class ship after the Galapagos. The panama canal however was spectacular.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

 does anyone read the  reviews ? 
 

[iTownPrincess]

On 6/4/2023 at 3:06 PM, NMTraveller said:

Feel free to add your positive review here.  All are welcome.

Just off Equinox today, DH and I had a great time. I am an experienced cruiser and this was DH Jay’s first cruise. Yes, Equinox shows her age, the inexperience of some crew was evident, and food quality has clearly diminished. Waaay too few bartenders.

 

But as I stated, we loved our cruise. The food was good to very good, plentiful, beautifully presented. Our MDR servers were outstanding and I just can’t find a good enough superlative for our cabin steward. We had an aft Concierge cabin. DH spent the entire first night sitting on the balcony watching the ship’s wake. We made ourselves a lovely little ritual each night after dinner returning to our cabin, putting on some loungewear, sitting on the balcony and watching the sunsets, night skies, and the wake. Soothing, peaceful, hypnotic.

 

We saw flying fish near Cuba and small electric blue eels (meaning their color was electric blue) around the pier while tied up in Bimini. We watched spectacular lightning storms one night. Overnight between Bimini and Fort Lauderdale we watched a sea bird ride the ship’s slipstream, sometimes flying, sometimes in the water. Jay assumed the ship was stirring up the bird’s preferred food source and the clever thing was using the speed gained in the ship’s air to hunt its dinner.

 

I guess I will conclude by saying the ship was a vehicle for some magical experiences for us. A cruise is a lot more than the sum of its parts and the value derived really rests on the passenger. 

[C-Dragons]

On 6/9/2023 at 6:17 AM, Ex-Airbalancer said:

 does anyone read the  reviews ? 
 

Personally, no.

[NMTraveller]

Why has the quality of cruise line food declined?

 

ChatGPT

As an AI language model, I don't have real-time data or personal opinions, but I can provide some general insights on the topic.

The quality of cruise line food can vary based on a range of factors, and it's important to note that not all cruise lines have experienced a decline in food quality. However, if there have been instances where the quality of food on certain cruise lines has declined, several factors could contribute to this:

1. Cost-cutting measures: Cruise lines may try to reduce expenses, including food costs, to maximize profits. This could lead to compromises in the quality of ingredients, sourcing, or preparation methods.

2. Mass production: Cruise ships cater to a large number of passengers, often serving thousands of meals each day. Preparing and serving food on such a scale can be challenging, and maintaining consistently high-quality meals can be difficult.

3. Staffing and training: The culinary team on a cruise ship plays a crucial role in delivering quality meals. If there are issues with staffing shortages, inadequate training, or high turnover rates, it can impact the overall food quality.

4. Diverse passenger preferences: Cruise lines often cater to passengers from various countries and cultures, each with different culinary preferences and dietary restrictions. Meeting these diverse needs while maintaining high-quality standards can be a challenge.

5. Overall cruise experience focus: Some cruise lines may prioritize other aspects of the cruising experience, such as entertainment, amenities, or excursions, over food quality. While food remains an important part of the cruise experience, it might not receive the same level of attention as other areas.

It's worth noting that not all cruise lines face these challenges, and many maintain high standards for their culinary offerings. Cruise lines differ in terms of their target market, pricing, and overall approach, so it's essential to research and consider specific cruise lines and their reputation for food quality before making a decision.

 

Regenerate response