Was Celebrity ever a Premium brand?

[Cruisegoer]

I'm sure we can all agree that Celebrity has always been a step above the major RCI, CCL, NCL lines but in the last year alone with re-branding away from "Always Included" and the numerous quality cuts to both service and food quality, do you think Celebrity ever was or is still a Premium brand? Please understand by Premium I don't mean on the level with Viking/Crystal/etc because the price tags simply don't align.

[RichYak]

I think Celebrity has been and still is a premium mass market cruise line, on par with HAL and Princess. Some have referred to Celebrity as luxury, which is just silly.

[kathy49]

I think premium means different things to different people....from your criteria above up to this point I would say yes it was. Not sure what direction they are going but it seems that step up from mass market but still less than lux is not selling like they want so new leadership is choosing a different direction. Up until now most with Princess etc experience mention quality of food on Celebrity as being better and in general a better  experience.  But if that is not making money for them...well here comes the changes. I think many will just go to the next level..pay a bit more and probably get what they want.

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by kathy49

[Oceangoer2]

When we first sailed Celebrity, Horizon seemed to be a premium brand.  Being a smaller ship with less passengers, the attention to even the smallest details...quality of service and menu, was possible and appreciated.  Migration to the bigger ships changed our experience, some for the better...eg more entertainment, balconies for many, specialty restaurants ...but the 'little things' went by the boards.  Now I'd say it's still bordering on premium but not quite there for those of us who've experienced the best days on X....IMO.  Re balconies....the E class seems to have gone backwards...😉.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Oceangoer2

[kwokpot]

8 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I think Celebrity has been and still is a premium mass market cruise line, on par with HAL and Princess. Some have referred to Celebrity as luxury, which is just silly.

Correct. If you compare the three cruiselines you mention with Carnival, they are indeed a step up from the baseline Carnival. Even Carnival's newest Excel Class ships, although a step up from even the last newbuild ship class for them, is no match in terms of the overall cruise experience when compared with Celebrity. Conversely you're seeing NCL trying to come up to what we all perceive Celebrity is/was with their new Prima Class ships. Previous to the Prima Class I would put NCL on Par with Royal. 

Edited August 30, 2023 by kwokpot

[Moby Jones]

28 minutes ago, Cruisegoer said:

I'm sure we can all agree that Celebrity has always been a step above the major RCI, CCL, NCL lines but in the last year alone with re-branding away from "Always Included" and the numerous quality cuts to both service and food quality, do you think Celebrity ever was or is still a Premium brand? Please understand by Premium I don't mean on the level with Viking/Crystal/etc because the price tags simply don't align.

The word 'premium' is subjective and really just used as a marketing tool by TA's. 

In my world, I see lines like Carnival, RCL, NCL and MSC as family friendly 'resort style' mainstream cruise lines. 

Celebrity could be described as a 'premium mainstream line' in a category including HAL, Virgin and Princess. It goes without saying that individuals will have their own preferences amongst these lines. 

Azamara, Oceania and similar offer a more upscale experience and more exclusivity due to the smaller sizes. 

Then you have true luxury cruise lines like Regent, Silversea and Crystal offering an experience Celebrity can't compete with, which is why RCL group own Silversea...

It's simply moronic to refer to Celebrity as a luxury line. It's a good mainstream line. 

I'd add that I found Lisa Lutof-Perlo's 'modern luxury' marketing campaign very patronising. Celebrity moved away from its Chandris roots and moved more towards Royal Caribbean under her stewardship. I fear it will continue on that path under the new CEO. 
 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Moby Jones

[ymncruise]

To me, it’s above average, but not premium. If there were a lot less passengers on board, the crew would be able to provide premium service and you would be able to find a lounge chair at the pool. All cruise lines are probably making cuts. There are things I like about celebrity that keep me coming back. 

[mnocket]

My first Celebrity cruise was on the Galaxy in 1998.  My 2nd Celebrity cruise wasn't until 2017 on the Reflection.  While the Reflection was newer and larger, as best I can recall the level of service was similar, but I remember the experience in the main dinning room being a bit more formal and upscale in 1998.

 

Since then, I have taken 3 more cruises on Celebrity.  The changes over the past 6 years have been far more dramatic than those I remember in the 19 years between my first two Celebrity cruises. 

 

To answer the OP's question....  Yes I do believe Celebrity was once a premium brand.  My opinion is that the recent changes are a deliberate strategy by the Royal Caribbean Group to transition Celebrity from a premium category to a mainstream line ala RCCL, but with a more adult focus. 

Edited August 30, 2023 by mnocket

[Claret and Blue]

I felt our first cruise on Celebrity was a decent step up from TUI, MSC & P&O and qualified as a premium brand. The staff to passenger ratio still helps here.

 

People complaining about Celebrity MDR food should try a MSC cruise out of Dubai 😞 (MSC had cornered the market in chip (french fries) off cuts. We never had a chip longer than 2 inches!!!)

[Jeremiah1212]

Some people may need to take a 4 night Carnival cruise, find a chair on the pool deck of an NCL ship at 1pm or cruise in a Princess cabin that looks like a Holiday Inn lobby from 1987. It may be quite the reality check! 

[lexmiller]

I've always felt that Celebrity is at the top of the Premium Cruise Line "category".  From Celebrity, there is nowhere to go but up.  And I'm not talking about the various mass market lines who have outstanding suite areas, as that's a different thing - I'm talking about your average run of the mill good ol' boy cabin with a balcony (or even yes, an IV) - taken as a whole, every detail, Celebrity is at the top of this particular heap.  For us, to jump ship, the luxury brands though extremely appealing, especially Regent - go big or go home, after all - don't have the entertainment that we've come to absolutely love that only Celebrity provides - most especially, in the unparalleled theaters in the Edge Class ships.  Also, my husband loves to play poker, the "real kind", sitting at a table and accessing and evaluating everyone's expressions and tells.  No other line has the sweet spot that Celebrity has always provided for us.  And about the "Modern Luxury" tag line, we did feel it was apt.  So for now, we have 7 cruises currently booked with Celebrity, 35 under our belt.  We will have to evaluate where we go from here, as we may find that we are going to stay put.  

[RichYak]

4 minutes ago, lexmiller said:

I've always felt that Celebrity is at the top of the Premium Cruise Line "category". 

You think Celebrity is better than Azamara and Oceania?

[billc23]

Somewhat premium when the Century had Murano. Totally different than the "table side cooking" done today. We would dine there every night and always have our preferred table. There was live music at a background level. The chef would come to our table most nights asking for and recommending off menu items so we would not be board with the menu. Zabaglione table side prep was amazing... Those were the days when Celebrity could be considered premium.

[Oceangoer2]

18 minutes ago, RichYak said:

You think Celebrity is better than Azamara and Oceania?

Hi...JMHO...but I've checked these lines thoroughly, but not sailed them.  They may consider themselves Premium, however their boards sometimes don't agree and some think X is better than they.  Also some of their cruisers complain as much as X cruisers here...there are ups in menu and downs in entertainment.  Each has their own 'appreciation contingent' and also their 'complaint department'.  For now and after ALMOST booking Oceania due to our cancelled booking I realized we were loyal to X over 30 sailings for a reason and not enough has happened for us to change our continuing to sail with them 'for now'. 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Oceangoer2

[Jeremiah1212]

15 minutes ago, RichYak said:

You think Celebrity is better than Azamara and Oceania?

 

Not directed at me and I'm probably not Azamara's target, but I would probably chose to cruise Aqua class on S or E class, or definitely Retreat on E Class, over Azamara any day. It's not for everyone. 

[kwokpot]

35 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

Not directed at me and I'm probably not Azamara's target, but I would probably chose to cruise Aqua class on S or E class, or definitely Retreat on E Class, over Azamara any day. It's not for everyone. 

I think what many Celebrity cruisers like about the line is the more premium cruise experience on a large ship with all the features and benefits only a larger ship can provide. Azamara ships are 30,000 tons. Only the very first and only Celebrity ship, the Meridian was of that tonnage. The M Class is 3x the tonnage. For me I would never want to sail anything smaller than the former Century Class at 70,000+Tons.  

Edited August 30, 2023 by kwokpot

[KKB]

1 hour ago, Cruisegoer said:

I'm sure we can all agree that Celebrity has always been a step above the major RCI, CCL, NCL lines but in the last year alone with re-branding away from "Always Included" and the numerous quality cuts to both service and food quality, do you think Celebrity ever was or is still a Premium brand? Please understand by Premium I don't mean on the level with Viking/Crystal/etc because the price tags simply don't align.

We began sailing 20 years ago, mostly on Princess (also RCCL & DCL).

10 years ago we discovered Celebrity & we were hooked--the food & service were a step above the other lines.

Then we sailed Eclass 2 years ago & it is a step above other Celebrity ships in decor & food.

We sail a variety of cruise lines for a variety of reasons--a good deal, itinerary, date.

But everything being equal, we would choose Celebrity EVERY time. (particularly Eclass)

 

[Moby Jones]

25 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

Not directed at me and I'm probably not Azamara's target, but I would probably chose to cruise Aqua class on S or E class, or definitely Retreat on E Class, over Azamara any day. It's not for everyone. 

I think it's fair to say that Azamara are aimed at passengers more focussed on the destination. They spend more time in port, do more overnights and visit ports that large ships like those owned by Celebrity just can't visit. And they offer longer itineraries etc. 

They attract an older, well heeled and well travelled crowd whereas Celebrity cruisers would typically be more interested in the ship as a destination when compared to Azamara pax. 

[Moby Jones]

Just now, KKB said:

We began sailing 20 years ago, mostly on Princess (also RCCL & DCL).

10 years ago we discovered Celebrity & we were hooked--the food & service were a step above the other lines.

Then we sailed Eclass 2 years ago & it is a step above other Celebrity ships in decor & food.

We sail a variety of cruise lines for a variety of reasons--a good deal, itinerary, date.

But everything being equal, we would choose Celebrity EVERY time. (particularly Eclass)

 

Decor I can understand but you'll find food wise it all comes from the same suppliers and many dishes in the buffet and the MDR's (including Blu and Luminae for their respective passengers) are the same. 

The only real difference is the specialty restaurants. M class ships have a pretty crappy selection of these, but Murano on S class can give E class specialty restaurants a run for their money easily. Eden is nice though and has a great location. 

[KKB]

1 minute ago, Moby Jones said:

Decor I can understand but you'll find food wise it all comes from the same suppliers and many dishes in the buffet and the MDR's (including Blu and Luminae for their respective passengers) are the same. 

The only real difference is the specialty restaurants. M class ships have a pretty crappy selection of these, but Murano on S class can give E class specialty restaurants a run for their money easily. Eden is nice though and has a great location. 

We did try several specialty restaurants on Equinox but never have on M class.

Eclass MDRs were outstanding--truly making us not even consider specialty restaurants.

But then we did Eden--OMG. A new MUST DO. And totally different on Apex & Edge. (will do on Beyond in Dec; since we were in Retreat in April & had Le Voyage & Chef's Table, opted out of Eden)

Then we did Chefs Table & Le Voyage...Celebrity, I am not one who needs specialty dining, but you are wise enough to make me WANT IT.

(BTW was not overly excited about Luminae. It was good, don't get me wrong, but no better than the 4 MDRs on Eclass)

[ROYALBOY]

I do believe Celebrity is a premium brand, but I also believe they are trying to appeal to a younger family demographic. As we got older we moved away from RCCL and the amusement park atmosphere. Hope Celebrity can find a good middle ground. 

[Moby Jones]

1 minute ago, KKB said:

We did try several specialty restaurants on Equinox but never have on M class.

Eclass MDRs were outstanding--truly making us not even consider specialty restaurants.

But then we did Eden--OMG. A new MUST DO. And totally different on Apex & Edge. (will do on Beyond in Dec; since we were in Retreat in April & had Le Voyage & Chef's Table, opted out of Eden)

Then we did Chefs Table & Le Voyage...Celebrity, I am not one who needs specialty dining, but you are wise enough to make me WANT IT.

(BTW was not overly excited about Luminae. It was good, don't get me wrong, but no better than the 4 MDRs on Eclass)

I've found Luminae to be inconsistent. Last year we had back to backs on Apex and the service was superb. Our head waiter took the time to go through the menu offerings nightly and make his recommendations with explanations as to why some were worth trying and others less so. 

He offered to serve meals from the MDR and Blu which according to some on here is not allowed. In reality it depends on your team on the day. He also advised we could ask for dishes not on the menu if we gave them a days notice. All in all it was a superb service. 

A few weeks later we were onboard Reflection. The maitre d' appeared largely disinterested in her diners. The wait team were inexperienced and gave us conflicting information with what we'd received on Apex and the food including dishes we'd eaten on Apex were simply not as good. 

During a candid conversation with the Retreat manager we discussed the differences between Apex and Reflection. To me it was really just a random chat but I went into detail on where the Apex team was beating them. We then received FCC vouchers which we neither expected or asked for. They obviously knew all was not well.... 

I still very much enjoy the table side service in Murano as well as the theatre and ambiance. Eden has a much more modern feel but I think I'd still pick the former. Just. 

[KKB]

6 minutes ago, Moby Jones said:

I've found Luminae to be inconsistent. Last year we had back to backs on Apex and the service was superb. Our head waiter took the time to go through the menu offerings nightly and make his recommendations with explanations as to why some were worth trying and others less so. 

He offered to serve meals from the MDR and Blu which according to some on here is not allowed. In reality it depends on your team on the day. He also advised we could ask for dishes not on the menu if we gave them a days notice. All in all it was a superb service. 

A few weeks later we were onboard Reflection. The maitre d' appeared largely disinterested in her diners. The wait team were inexperienced and gave us conflicting information with what we'd received on Apex and the food including dishes we'd eaten on Apex were simply not as good. 

During a candid conversation with the Retreat manager we discussed the differences between Apex and Reflection. To me it was really just a random chat but I went into detail on where the Apex team was beating them. We then received FCC vouchers which we neither expected or asked for. They obviously knew all was not well.... 

I still very much enjoy the table side service in Murano as well as the theatre and ambiance. Eden has a much more modern feel but I think I'd still pick the former. Just. 

Not sure what you mean by "theatre" in Murano--had a great meal to be sure.

 

Our server in Luminae was superb. (but in 34 cruises I can only think of one not so great server)

Perhaps my expectations were too high--I thought we would get a superior meal to MDR.

Not worse, but not better.

[lexmiller]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

You think Celebrity is better than Azamara and Oceania?

In the areas of entertainment, without a doubt.  We shamelessly - with utter and contagious abandon -  enjoy the Celebrity Life Activities - the activities themselves, as well as the staff.  On The Edge TA last year, the team actually wrote us a personal thank you note, each writing their own words, thanking us for our participation in pretty much everything, as we helped make their job more fun😀.  I still keep in touch with team members we met over a decade ago.  Just this spring as we boarded Eclipse in Sydney, I got a massive hug from behind from a Celebrity Life Activities Host who recognized me from a prior cruise and was so happy to see us again - and no, we have never tipped the Activities Team members 😜.  And am I talking about the trivia games, sort of - has my husband been on the winning Team Trivia team two cruises running, such that people asked to join his team on a B2B knowing his team would most likely win again (which they did), ok, yes!  But it's things like the 8pm game show, like "Yes or No" - love that one!, and many many others - so much fun!  And the adult game shows at 10 pm - not Liars Club, which yes is fantastic, but the adult only participation games - very fun!  And the entertainment itself, the production shows - we absolutely recognize the quality in the productions, the production team members, most notably on the Edge Class ships where those 3 story high digital semi-circular screens have allowed the creatives to go out of their minds with new ideas - note in particular, Arte on Beyond, wow!  Then you move into those areas of debate like food, which for us, 12 cruises post-covid - the quality of the beef in all of the MDRs, absolutely tanked - often our filets were inedible, so so tough.....so that's a shame but everything else remained not as good as it was, but still very good - like in Blu on a few of our cruises, no more bar server, the sommelier had to to EVERYTHING, which isn't right.  BUT, I digress - Celebrity has always hit that sweet spot for us.  Historically, excellent food and food still of top quality in the specialties (for us, Eden and Le Petit Chef are our faves, Murano on S-class.  Fine Cut, no way - steakhouses are a dime a dozen on land, won't waste our cruise dollars on a steakhouse onboard).  And the ships themselves, especially the Edge Class ships - we love the art!  I highly recommend the onboard art tour on any of the Edge ships!  Did you know the bronze horse on Edge was created by Charles Dickens' great (another great in there probably) granddaughter?  Fun fact.  The ships all have an elevated feel while at the same time, are approachable and not fussy.  And the size, very Goldilocks for us - as a ship too small, you cannot offer the entertainment or casino which Celebrity has.  And when we sail in Retreat (which we feel is worth the money only on Edge Class - and even then, "worth the money", ouch, as that's a LOT of money), we feel that is the best of all - a ship within a ship.  I will stop myself here, but for us, in conclusion, yes, we do feel that Celebrity is the top of the Premium category.  Not sure if it can remain there through all of the financial woes, poor business decisions, cutbacks, etc......

Edited August 30, 2023 by lexmiller

[bigbenboys]

I think Celebrity was a Premium brand. Time will tell if it still is. We over 50 cruises and 36 of those with Celebrity. I do like Celebrity suites. With Celebrity moving away from Al. It make me think of a budget airline, everything is ala carte. Celebrity's dress code has been the one big reason not to try higher end cruiselines. Also no smoking inside. We tried Azamara once while the cruise was nice. The ship was boring, just not to much to do. I love the glassblowing. Already booked 2 glassblowing for next month on Eclipse with OBC. 

We have sailed 4 times since X started back up. The biggest problem I see is in lack of returning staff.

 

20+ years sailing with X and 12 years since we have sailed on Princess. Trying Princess next Feb in a suite. Feb I'll see how Celebrity compares to Princess. Is a 7 night cruise in a Celebrity Suites next month worth $3k to $5k more than a aft Penthouse Suite on Princess. I might be ready for smaller high end cruise ships in 5 years when I turn 70.