Are Celebrity cost cutting and penny pinching there faithful customers off the ship?

[calicakes]

On 8/1/2023 at 11:29 AM, BlackLion 213 said:

 

In a word, NO...

 

It sure doesn't appear as if she does!

 

It's not ALL about the changes affecting loyal customers, but too many things in the recent course of X events have turned us away from Celebrity, our once favored cruise line. A horribly disappointing recent experience on Eclipse didn't help!

 

As I have said, and will likely say many times before this subsides, she is making "how to kill a cruise line" moves.

 

What happened on Eclipse?  We're on in October, Mexican Riviera. 

[someguyfl]

On 8/1/2023 at 3:11 PM, horseymike said:

To your point, remember before the advent of the drink packages, there was a beverage server every 4 feet asking if you would like a cocktail, now with all the prepaid drink packages you find yourself waiting in line at the bar to order a drink .

As someone who drinks an alcoholic drink once or twice per year, and otherwise just drinks sparkling water 99% of the time ... Honestly I find that Celebrity's servers/sommelier in the restaurants are pushing drinks very aggressively. On the occasions that I actually wanted a drink, there was constant asking if I wanted a refill, both in the restaurant or at the bars.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

4 minutes ago, someguyfl said:

As someone who drinks an alcoholic drink once or twice per year, and otherwise just drinks sparkling water 99% of the time ... Honestly I find that Celebrity's servers/sommelier in the restaurants are pushing drinks very aggressively. On the occasions that I actually wanted a drink, there was constant asking if I wanted a refill, both in the restaurant or at the bars.

I wish I could those waiters 😁

[horseymike]

16 minutes ago, someguyfl said:

As someone who drinks an alcoholic drink once or twice per year, and otherwise just drinks sparkling water 99% of the time ... Honestly I find that Celebrity's servers/sommelier in the restaurants are pushing drinks very aggressively. On the occasions that I actually wanted a drink, there was constant asking if I wanted a refill, both in the restaurant or at the bars.

In the restaurants yes, at the bars not some much. I too imbibe very little in my daily life , but when on a cruise I take advantage of not needing to drive, so I will have a few.

[mauimary]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

What happened on Eclipse?  We're on in October, Mexican Riviera. 

As far as we know we’re on in November. I don’t think anything happened to it. Somebody just didn’t like it for whatever reason. They were disappointed with the food and/or wines and it sounds like it turned them off to Celebrity. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

11 hours ago, mauimary said:

Yes everyone view is subjective. That’s why I take it with a grain of salt. The same with a restaurant or hotel. It’s mostly those with a bad experience who comment and not all of the ones who have had great experiences.  For ourselves we do not take them seriously. 

We have a similar viewpoint.  We ignore those reviews from people that say they had a great time but don’t provide any details.  We have no idea about their level of expectations.  Those comments are useless and we do not take them seriously.

[FreestyleNovice]

14 hours ago, mayleeman said:

 

People who criticize Celebrity here but continue to cruise get dissed for continuing to book on X and not "voting with their wallets."  Now someone whose experience causes them to give up on celebrity gets criticized for telling us about it.

 

Seems that any cruise that unpleasant is precisely what we would want to know about lest we think no one really means it.

I get you but did the poster elaborate? Terrible is a word I would avoid, the war in Ukraine a few clicks away from the Med is terrible. No cruise is perfect, having the freedom to worry about the small stuff is modern luxury. They still don’t make you row the ship, you are still voluntarily on board. 

[Tony UK]

I think the company are trying and succeeding to attract a younger demographic and yes they need to do that. The design of the e class ships is clearly with the younger cruisers in mind and reflects the way eating out drinking and partying happens in most of our cities and towns nowadays. The days of silver service, cooking tableside, the tray showing desserts etc were nice in their day but now are for the most part gone!

I try to keep all this in perspective....when we started cruising we were some of the younger cruisers on board by quite a margin. Now we are in our 70s. Yes cruising has changed quite a lot, so have we! We want to be comfortable, have good service eat good food nicely presented. We like to watch the younger ones enjoy themselves and join in!! We dont want a ship that resembles an elders community. We like the mix of age groups, nationalities, lots of diversity....it makes for a fun time.

Companies like Virgin who have come into the market are proving sucessful and popular with their more modern approach. Maybe a little too much for me but never say never!

 

 

[Gracie115]

On 8/7/2023 at 9:32 PM, RichYak said:

Currently on board Summit after sailing Millennium in March. There is definitely a decline. We just boarded yesterday so I’ll refrain from elaborating. Give me a couple more days to form a better opinion. 

 

How has your cruise been?  Hopefully things have improved since Monday.

[trippe1075]

On 8/1/2023 at 1:24 PM, chromered7 said:

Does the new boss of Celebrity really care about their long established and faithful customers with the raft of changes she is implementing? Perhaps they are aiming for a new demographic of young passengers who have never experienced the quality that Celebrity once was?

I believe that there is a move in the cruising industry to reduce services that have been long held dear to veteran cruisers. Those perks will go by the wayside and the only people who will realize the changes are the veterans. There are far more new cruisers taking cruises today who really never experienced those perks we complain about on this site losing.

As veteran cruisers, it is imperative that we voice our concerns on this site as well as in person onboard ships. Money talks and so must your business. If you feel the line is doing you a disservice than you have to rethink your line loyalty. 

[mayleeman]

8 hours ago, FreestyleNovice said:

They still don’t make you row the ship

 

I think if Celeb reps read this forum, in a couple years we can expect what I call "Gilligan-style" rowing machines in the gym connected to generators and the ship's batteries. You get a couple CC pts for every megawatt you produce.

[Harrylinden]

If Celebrity and the CEO are leaning towards younger people to fill the cabins, boy are they in for a rude awakening! Younger people don't have any money! They live off credit cards and can't even afford to pay them off once they are maxed out. Older and retired people are the one's with the money!!!  Just Saying!!

[hcat]

15 hours ago, someguyfl said:

As someone who drinks an alcoholic drink once or twice per year, and otherwise just drinks sparkling water 99% of the time ... Honestly I find that Celebrity's servers/sommelier in the restaurants are pushing drinks very aggressively. On the occasions that I actually wanted a drink, there was constant asking if I wanted a refill, both in the restaurant or at the bars.

We find that at the outset of a cruise.there is a big push to sell alc 

packages and uogrades.. very annoying but then it tapers off!

[C4HCG]

14 minutes ago, Harrylinden said:

If Celebrity and the CEO are leaning towards younger people to fill the cabins, boy are they in for a rude awakening! Younger people don't have any money! They live off credit cards and can't even afford to pay them off once they are maxed out. Older and retired people are the one's with the money!!!  Just Saying!!

Quite a sweeping generalisation 

[someguyfl]

16 hours ago, horseymike said:

In the restaurants yes, at the bars not some much. I too imbibe very little in my daily life , but when on a cruise I take advantage of not needing to drive, so I will have a few.

Compared to the experience of trying to get a drink at a bar in downtown Orlando, or a Nightclub in Miami or Vegas, it's super super super easy to get a drink from a bar on a Celebrity cruise ship.

I guess I will say the one place where I find it very difficult to get a drink is from the servers in the Buffet ... can literally be waiting 15 minutes to even see a server, and then another 15 minute to get your drink. It's fine if you walk up to the bar, but less convenient.

Edited August 10, 2023 by someguyfl

[highway180]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

We find that at the outset of a cruise.there is a big push to sell alc 

packages and uogrades.. very annoying but then it tapers off!

Just got off the Solstice last week,and was NEVER approached by anyone to buy a drink package, or upgrade. Same for dining packages. No annoying photographers....nothing. just my recent experience

 

cheers

[phoenix_dream]

17 minutes ago, highway180 said:

Just got off the Solstice last week,and was NEVER approached by anyone to buy a drink package, or upgrade. Same for dining packages. No annoying photographers....nothing. just my recent experience

 

cheers

That has been my experience as well in the past couple of years over the course of many Celebrity cruises.  

[C-Dragons]

1 minute ago, phoenix_dream said:

That has been my experience as well in the past couple of years over the course of many Celebrity cruises.  

Our experience has been the same as yours cruising with X over the years.

[hcat]

48 minutes ago, highway180 said:

Just got off the Solstice last week,and was NEVER approached by anyone to buy a drink package, or upgrade. Same for dining packages. No annoying photographers....nothing. just my recent experience

 

cheers

happy to hear that!

   it was tiresome..along with  end of cruise pleas to rate a 10

[doghog]

29 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

Our experience has been the same as yours cruising with X over the years.

 

 

52 minutes ago, highway180 said:

Just got off the Solstice last week,and was NEVER approached by anyone to buy a drink package, or upgrade. Same for dining packages. No annoying photographers....nothing. just my recent experience

 

cheers

 

34 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

That has been my experience as well in the past couple of years over the course of many Celebrity cruises.  

Same here and as recent as our March Apex cruise. 

[hubofhockey]

1 hour ago, C4HCG said:

Quite a sweeping generalisation 

Yes, it is a very poor generalization.  So many young people, especially those in tech, law, or financial services, have plenty of cash.  Make sure your kids know how to code.

[ECCruise]

2 hours ago, Harrylinden said:

If Celebrity and the CEO are leaning towards younger people to fill the cabins, boy are they in for a rude awakening! Younger people don't have any money! They live off credit cards and can't even afford to pay them off once they are maxed out. Older and retired people are the one's with the money!!!  Just Saying!!

My first response was "yes, that sounds right."

 

But then I did a bit of research re: credit card debt and realized that my first response would have been flawed.  Badly.

And these numbers have likely gotten worse since CC debt has absolutely exploded in the last 3 years to $1 Trillion in the US.

 

Americans who are 75 and older have the highest average credit card debt, according to the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) by the Federal Reserve Board. They had an average balance of $8,078 as of 2019. That's the most recent year when the Federal Reserve conducted the SCF

[Dolebludger]

Just a question. What has been cut from the perks that those is Sky and Celebrity suites received about five years ago? 

[D. B.]

7 hours ago, trippe1075 said:

I believe that there is a move in the cruising industry to reduce services that have been long held dear to veteran cruisers. Those perks will go by the wayside and the only people who will realize the changes are the veterans. There are far more new cruisers taking cruises today who really never experienced those perks we complain about on this site losing.

As veteran cruisers, it is imperative that we voice our concerns on this site as well as in person onboard ships. Money talks and so must your business. If you feel the line is doing you a disservice than you have to rethink your line loyalty. 

To get back to the Penny Pinching on X these days.

 You make a good point about the newer cruisers who won't miss what they never experienced.

 Heck I miss Ice Carvings and It's a Small World parades in the MDR   BUT I still fine a Lot I like about Celebrity that will keep me cruising with  them.

 In the last 2 years we tried 5 different Lines (some Way more $$$)  and some equal.

 The $$$ lines seem to distill all the Fun out of Cursing and the = ones were not offering what we liked on X.

 We are all  Lucky that the Cruise Industry Survived the Covid shutdown and the penny pinching is the pay back. . In that  regard we are "All in the Same Boat"?😎

 

 

[D. B.]

28 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

My first response was "yes, that sounds right."

 

But then I did a bit of research re: credit card debt and realized that my first response would have been flawed.  Badly.

And these numbers have likely gotten worse since CC debt has absolutely exploded in the last 3 years to $1 Trillion in the US.

 

Americans who are 75 and older have the highest average credit card debt, according to the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) by the Federal Reserve Board. They had an average balance of $8,078 as of 2019. That's the most recent year when the Federal Reserve conducted the SCF

Maybe they are sailing with Regent Seven Seas and haven't paid off the card yet?