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

[goofysmom99]

I've been sailing mostly on X for a long time but the latest round of price increases and food cuts prompted me to look at premium lines for the first time.  Found out they have real solo supplement fares making it possible for me to book two different lines for 2024 at ~50% of the equivalent (SS) on X.  I've also booked four cruises on X in C2/V2 cabins, but adding on specialty restaurants most nights.  How they compare for value will determine where I spend money in 2025.  Guess I should add, I dined in MDR for B2B in Oct/Nov and Luminae B2B in Feb/Mar and thought all the food was just not up to par.  

[PurpleTraveller]

If you read the Princess threads then you will see that passengers are up in arms due to the about to be implemented charges for previously included items such as room service and Alfredo's (a casual dining restaurant).

 

I think all cruise lines are trying to reduce costs and improve their bottom line. They also seem to be less interested in keeping their long term loyal customers and are hoping to attract new younger passengers.

 

I am a long time Princess cruiser who tried Celebrity last year and had such a wonderful cruise I have two more booked. From now on I am not loyal to any particular cruise line and will book according to itinerary, price and value for money.

 

 

[miched]

if you look at the majority of cruisers they are older and have cruises many times before.   That is the purpose of the loyalty clubs.   Every one has some type of loyalty club.  They want you to repeat but in the end they always decrease the value of the club and being loyal.   They tend to forget that you were the ones that helped them become what they are.  

 

I am in my 70s.  My children and other younger people that I talk to don’t really have an interest in taking a cruise.   They would rather some their money elsewhere.  With the current prices of the cruises, cutbacks and etc. my wife and I are also thinking the same.  If  we take the future cruises we have booked on X we will be Zenith.   We will do the free cruise and that may be the end.    There are many better options with better products for our dollars.

 

I am tired of them not having something like a bourbon, wine and etc because of a supply issue when I see it in the duty free shop or my local liquor store 

 

Some how they think they can do without us.  If that is their opinion why do they always thank us on every cruise for our loyalty?  ;

 

Others may disagree but this is my opinion and my dollars.
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅
 

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by miched

[phoenix_dream]

1 hour ago, Crazy planning mom said:

The thing is Celebrity is known for their food.  Now, they are downgrading their menu, why sail on them?  That is what they are known for.

We have our 2nd Celebrity cruise booked for 2024.  However, if the food isn't better than Royal , then we will probably go back to Royal or NCL or try Virgin.

I agree they were known for their food.  I think the other thing they were known for was their superior service onboard.  Will have to wait and see what the butler change for suites does to that service.  It's also harder and harder to get a drink in a bar without walking up and ordering it.  I usually eat in Blu or Luminae and haven't noticed service issues there....yet.  Hopefully they won't also be making cuts to the service aspect overall, in all categories.  Not saying the food issues aren't real - they certainly are.  I think they believe the new (and younger) people they are luring to their ships won't realize the food used to be so much better than recently with the changes.  I realize it's a fine line to walk between recovering from the shutdown and not alienating your customers, but with some of these changes I unfortunately think they are on the wrong side of that line.

[PTC DAWG]

28 minutes ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

I am a long time Princess cruiser who tried Celebrity last year and had such a wonderful cruise I have two more booked. From now on I am not loyal to any particular cruise line and will book according to itinerary, price and value for money.

 

 

This is the way to approach it, IMHO. 

[hcat]

4 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

How can anyone be sure that these plans were not already in progress/place and she is only executing them, as was passed on to her???

 

I do not see her as being in the role long enough to work with the team to implement these items/changes.

 

Could she have halted implementation? I Am sure, yet I do not know the business decision(s) that went into making the new policies.

 

For example, I did know that the charge of gratuities were going up, about 90 days ago, yet there are a few here who were blind sided by it and believed they were deceived when it happened.

 

But, be that as it may.

 

bon voyage

hi Bo

I agree... Royalization started long ago. LLP came up through Royal sales and marketing. She  had no special appreciation or  affection for X.  She got the ball rolling.  The new CEO  is rapidly  moving that agenda forward.

 

One surprise to me is that they are not leaving the suite experience untouched. Downgrading that segment may affect the bottom line.   Time will tell.

 

[Lena11033]

1 minute ago, hcat said:

One surprise to me is that they are not leaving the suite experience untouched. Downgrading that segment may affect the bottom line.   Time will tell.

 

 

I agree, I mean I am less likely to get a suite because I travel solo BUT if I was to get a suite I'd be getting a sky suite - but now? Why would I spend that kind of money for less. Sure the more you pay the more you get but, advertising having something and not actually providing the service that's a no from me. I can keep my money and just organize my own reservations and get my own food/drink.

[zitsky]

Celebrity can replace passengers by offering the younger crowd a chance to meet TikTok influencers on a cruise.  

[ChucktownSteve]

Is it my misconception or am I seeing more and more people, who never spoke ill about Celebrity before, now  considering broadening their bookings to several other lines?  I don't recall it being this prevalent previously.

[mac_tlc]

6 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

Is it my misconception or am I seeing more and more people, who never spoke ill about Celebrity before, now  considering broadening their bookings to several other lines?  I don't recall it being this prevalent previously.

I think you are right. The past six/seven months on this board have been very different. There are as many negative threads as positive ones and, unfortunately, I have found it necessary to contribute to those negative ones. 

 

There have always been negative views but there are a lot of upset long time E/E+/Z Celebrity cruisers. 

 

mac_tlc

[zitsky]

Zenith is the top tier frequent cruiser?  And Celebrity made it impossible to use suite benefits like the lounge or sundeck?  They converted Michael’s into the Retreat?  Do I follow?

[CHEZMARYLOU]

5 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

How can anyone be sure that these plans were not already in progress/place and she is only executing them, as was passed on to her???

 

I do not see her as being in the role long enough to work with the team to implement these items/changes.

 

Could she have halted implementation? I Am sure, yet I do not know the business decision(s) that went into making the new policies.

 

For example, I did know that the charge of gratuities were going up, about 90 days ago, yet there are a few here who were blind sided by it and believed they were deceived when it happened.

 

But, be that as it may.

 

bon voyage

I seriously doubt this is the case but we will probably never know unless things backfire and she is gone as quickly as she appeared. One can only hope. 

[Karen450]

6 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

I seriously doubt this is the case but we will probably never know unless things backfire and she is gone as quickly as she appeared. One can only hope. 

Does no one learn from Bob Chapek? 

[doghog]

We always sleep around. 

[SPacificbound]

We are B2B on Celebrity the month of August, then B2B on RC Sept/Oct 2023, so we'll see how it goes. We aren't the youngsters they are looking for, but we can be gone for months at a time.

[tfred]

1 hour ago, ChucktownSteve said:

Is it my misconception or am I seeing more and more people, who never spoke ill about Celebrity before, now  considering broadening their bookings to several other lines?  I don't recall it being this prevalent previously.

On this forum?  Probably. Unfortunately they isn’t a good representation of any average cruise pax. The number of active posters is really quite low in relation to actually on board. 

[zitsky]

7 minutes ago, tfred said:

On this forum?  Probably. Unfortunately they isn’t a good representation of any average cruise pax. The number of active posters is really quite low in relation to actually on board. 

How long has it been since anyone from Celebrity staff posted here?

[swjumbo]

6 hours ago, Joker54 said:

We have several cruises on the books but only 2 are paid in full. The deposits on the others are minimal so we can walk away without a huge hit.

 

We are booking something in MSC Yacht Club in December to give them a try.

 

We are b2b on the Equinox in Oct so between those 3 cruises we hope to be able to make an informed decision. The cruising industry is ever changing so who knows.

Have a look at Gary Bembridge a youtuber who recently sailed in MSC Yacht Club.

It makes for interesting viewing.

[xamsx]

2 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

Is it my misconception or am I seeing more and more people, who never spoke ill about Celebrity before, now  considering broadening their bookings to several other lines?  I don't recall it being this prevalent previously.

 I think it is what you are used to. We did two Celebrity cruises in late 2022 (Nov and Dec) and then did another in February (2023). The changes to food and service were a stark, negative difference to us in just those two months.  My mother and aunt were on that Feb cruise with us, and my aunt raved about what a good time she had and how wonderful everything was. It was her first cruise. My mother, who has cruised many times, was less than impressed (as were we). 

 

We have 8 cruises booked currently, only one is with Celebrity. Like many others, we are branching out. Some of those booked cruises are higher up the food chain, some lower. Whereas before we would look first at Celebrity and make the itinerary work, now we are checking the itinerary and making that the priority (within reason). Probably what we should have done all along, but we really appreciated the value we felt we received from Celebrity in the past. 

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by xamsx

[NMTraveller]

Celebrity appears to be focused on chasing away their existing customers.

 

Their business practices starting in January do not make any sense to me.  Short term gains vs. long term losses.

Edited August 2, 2023 by NMTraveller

[Team Stag]

2 hours ago, Karen450 said:

Does no one learn from Bob Chapek? 

I was thinking the same exact thing.  Destroyed a lot of loyalty by squeezing every dime out of guests that he could and now you see all the promotions they are running begging people to come back (at least to Florida residents).

Put us in the group that is seriously disappointed with the changes.  For the first time in a long; we are booking another cruise line for our fall cruise & instead of a spring cruise, next spring we are booking an all inclusive resort.  Now - these may not turn out to be our cup of tea and we may return to Celebrity in the future.  But a strategy of hoping your competition provides less of an experience and your customers come back; is not sound. 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Team Stag

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Celebrity appears to be focused on chasing away their existing customers.

 

Their business practices starting in January do not make any sense to me.  Short term gains vs. long term losses.

At the same time NCL has recently implemented their new 10% military discount program back in Nov 2022 followed by their new FAS Plus program last month to hopefully lure some of those disgruntled older folks like us over to their side … and it seems to be working as we have 5 future cruises booked with them. 😁

[NMTraveller]

28 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

At the same time NCL has recently implemented their new 10% military discount program back in Nov 2022 followed by their new FAS Plus program last month to hopefully lure some of those disgruntled older folks like us over to their side … and it seems to be working as we have 5 future cruises booked with them. 😁

Hmmm.  I did take a look and there were some very good deals...

[ChucktownSteve]

6 hours ago, tfred said:

On this forum?  Probably. Unfortunately they isn’t a good representation of any average cruise pax. The number of active posters is really quite low in relation to actually on board. 

 

Yes true fact that has been stated countless times on CC.  However with no prior Celebrity communication, and no shared knowledge as from here, how do you believe the hoards of unsuspecting suite passengers are going to feel after discovering the changes once onboard?

 

We may be a microcosm of passenger sentiment, however I suspect opinions here, both pro and con will be extrapolated throughout those once on board  possibly in a similar percentage. 

 

Or maybe passengers who don't use Cruise Critic won't care about the takeaways?

[Gracie115]

10 hours ago, gardengalaz said:

We're Elite on Celebrity but definitely not as enthusiastic about them as were were pre-Covid ... the product and value proposition have changed a bit too much to hold our loyalty.  So, earlier today, we booked our next cruise with Princess, with whom we've sailed many times, but switched to Celebrity for reasons that I can't remember.  Anyhoo -- with the deal Princess is offering on their Premiere package, the value can't be ignored. 

 

I'm sure Princess isn't going to be the cruise line we remember it being either ... but I think the good 'ole days of cruising have sailed long ago.

 

 

Yes this is what we have done also.  And if you book a full suite there is another list of benefits included very similar to what X offers.  No dedicated lounge except on the Royal class of ships, but that's the one we are sailing so all good.   We have sailed Princess before and once post-Covid so we know what we will be getting. 

 

In answer to the OP's original question...... YES.