What has changed since pandemic

[GeorgeL]

I have not been on Celebrity cruises since pandemic (after 25 prior cruises on that cruise line) and I am wondering what changes have other long time Celebrity cruisers observed, whether positive or negative,  since the pandemic. We have a cruise coming up in the fall of 2024 and wondering if we should adjust our expectations.

[CruiseRQA]

I'm sure you will get a variety of responses to this question and I predict most will be negative.   My wife and I have cruised Celebrity both pre and post pandemic.

 

The positive?   We love the new Edge class ships - great food options, live music, relaxed vibe, nice selection of specialty restaurants.   Service has been great, cabin, bar and restaurants.   

 

Negative?  Others will weigh in here.  For as long as I have been reading this board people have been complaining about "CUTBACKS!".   You would think by now there wouldn't even be a cruise because of "CUTBACKS!".    Last year the main complaint was food at the buffet.   This year the main complaint seems to be drink selection (and pricing) of beverages on the different drink packages.     For sure prices are higher but what prices aren't higher?

[RichYak]

The muster drill. Much better now.

[mrgabriel]

Biggest change is the degradation of food quantity & quality, and to an extent, service.
 

We have been on five cruises post-pandemic and yes, things are not

the same. The food quality has slid a bit in some cases but there have been some nice surprises, too. Stateroom attendants are running faster than before. 
 

My suggestion is to expect the same changes we’ve all seen in restaurants, hotels & stores at home. 

[RedIguana]

12 minutes ago, mrgabriel said:

Biggest change is the degradation of food quantity & quality, and to an extent, service.
 

We have been on five cruises post-pandemic and yes, things are not

the same. The food quality has slid a bit in some cases but there have been some nice surprises, too. Stateroom attendants are running faster than before. 

As @mrgabrielhas eloquently described, this is also my take on the post pandemic changes since a somewhat return to normality after pandemic protocols were lifted, along with some price increases. There is hope they will improve though, as I don't think Celebrity wants their reputation to go from the best premium mass market food at sea to the lower end of all mass market lines. Between March 2022 (HAL), several August/Sept 2022 RCI, Sept 2022 Celebrity, and May 2023 Princess, HAL and Princess came out ahead for MDR food, with Celebrity pretty even with RCI. I am hoping for a little better on Celebrity in a few weeks, but I booked this not expecting much.

[serene56]

charges for room service now

 

[lv2cruisgrl]

We have cruised many times since the pandemic.  Bar service is the slowest it's ever been.  You can see the cutbacks in number of crew.  Our dining room staff was good but really running to keep up. The stateroom attendants are sometimes working as late as 9:30pm to keep up.  The food is good in MDR but not excellent.  Eden restaurant for us is the best. The shows and other entertainment is better in our opinion.  So there are some good and some bad.  So far it hasn't stopped us from cruising.  Hoping it never will. My biggest wish for 2024 is that the Celebrity bean counters and CEO pay attention to what guests are saying about the Celebrity experience, and fix the issues.

[Salt Lifer]

Food quality and selection has gone downhill very quickly over the past couple years.

 

But for the good, I think Celebrity has really upped their game in terms of entertainment.  Last year's entertainment was better than I have experienced on any cruise ship/line in over 30 years and I daresay even rivaled professional Broadway-level shows in terms of talent and performance.  The new E-Class theatres help contribute to the awe and professionalism of the performances.

[doghog]

The Celebrity app. It is not required if you elect not to download it or use it. It does have a few pluses, IMO. Also you are asked to select your check in time ~45 days prior to your sail date. You can also do your muster drill (video). Once you are on the ship you have to report to your muster station to be checked off for that requirement. Also the health questionnaire can be done on the app prior to stepping foot on the ship. No longer mailed luggage tags. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by doghog

[1Virgo]

Aqua changes since restart and Laura chops:

..no fruit on Embarkation in room

..no daily herbal tea

..no canapés and even when we asked as per Laura, answer no

..no totes etc

..individual bottles of shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, body lotion now big jugs you pump

..room service charge if anything beyond Continental breakfast

 

reduced staffing

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

Good:

Starlink
E-Muster

 

Bad:

Food quality
Service due to being understaffed

Price increases

[GeorgeL]

2 hours ago, 1Virgo said:

Aqua changes since restart and Laura chops:

..no fruit on Embarkation in room

..no daily herbal tea

..no canapés and even when we asked as per Laura, answer no

..no totes etc

..individual bottles of shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, body lotion now big jugs you pump

..room service charge if anything beyond Continental breakfast

 

reduced staffing

 

So what left of Aqua? Just access to blue?

[1Virgo]

1 minute ago, GeorgeL said:

So what left of Aqua? Just access to blue?

Blu.   Other than that I d have to go and check. Think a Spa day.   

[GeorgeL]

Has quality of food in Blu changed as well?

[someguyfl]

9 hours ago, RichYak said:

The muster drill. Much better now.

Boarding process is also much better now with the online checkin. I did an Alaska cruise last year and it was something like 15 minutes from stepping foot in the door at the terminal before I was on the boat.

The process of disembarking was also much better than in the past. On that Alaska cruise, CBP in Seattle just kept announcing "Please hold your passport up over your head as you walk by so we can see your passport". Literally they just saw the cover of the passport and that was it. Could have been someone else's expired passport.

Also last year, I did a Panama Canal cruise, and disembarking from that, they didn't even ask to see that we had a passport.

My last two cruises pre-covid, they were stopping everyone, inspecting the passport, asking about what we bought overseas, etc etc ... multiple-hour-long-line.

 

Not sure why CBP became so much more lax in recent years (or if I was just lucky).

[someguyfl]

3 hours ago, 1Virgo said:

Blu.   Other than that I d have to go and check. Think a Spa day.   

Blu, Thermal Suite, Pillow Menu, Upgraded shampoo/conditioner [though it's in a large refillable bottle mounted to the wall rather than small bottles]. Binoculars. Umbrella. Upgraded bathrobe. Yoga mat in room. Some additional options on the room service menu vs the non-aqua room service menu (but there's a delivery fee now).

IMHO, the food in Blu is the same quality as it was pre-covid... but of course opinions will vary, and some people didn't like it pre-covid -- I did, and still do like Blu as of my most recent sailing just under 1 year ago.

I'll be on board again in 2 weeks, and will see if my opinion has changed.

[mrgabriel]

3 hours ago, GeorgeL said:

Has quality of food in Blu changed as well?

To a degree, but not as much as in the MDR.

 

AQ still has many of the amenities - 2 bottles of water per person per day, access to Persian Gardens any time, a bottle of sparkling wine. The full list is on Celebrity’s website.  

[1Virgo]

50 minutes ago, someguyfl said:

Blu, Thermal Suite, Pillow Menu, Upgraded shampoo/conditioner [though it's in a large refillable bottle mounted to the wall rather than small bottles]. Binoculars. Umbrella. Upgraded bathrobe. Yoga mat in room. Some additional options on the room service menu vs the non-aqua room service menu (but there's a delivery fee now).

IMHO, the food in Blu is the same quality as it was pre-covid... but of course opinions will vary, and some people didn't like it pre-covid -- I did, and still do like Blu as of my most recent sailing just under 1 year ago.

I'll be on board again in 2 weeks, and will see if my opinion has changed.

 

too funny.   upgraded bathrobe. 😂.     ours came pre air conditioned.  Holes.  and almost holes.   the quality of the contents of the  new pump bottles was not the same quality we had before.   Absolutely not.    and. Not tamper proof

 

Again. Room service menu for Aqua, and we had the brand new out of the package ones, Continental breakfast - no charge.  Add anything….ya pay the service fee plus gratuity 

 

Pillow menu.  😂😂😂😂.      too funny. never saw that.   Binoculars. The last cruise, a 10 dsyer, not to be found even requested

 

Thermal Suite. We tried to use…..  ………

 

 

Love the Blu.   Our fav.  Only reason we book Aqua

 

sorry to disillusion but we book Aqua or Retreat (wont be doing that) and have for many years. So.  We ve seen the changes

[someguyfl]

2 minutes ago, 1Virgo said:

Binoculars. The last cruise, a 10 dsyer, not to be found even requested

 

Thermal Suite. We tried to use…..  ………

What happened when you requested the Binoculars?

And, what went wrong with the Thermal Suite?

Edited December 9, 2023 by someguyfl

[Mr&MrsBee]

Higher prices, poorer service with poorer dent saff food quality not as good.  X has defibiely gone downhill thanks to LLP

[Northern Aurora]

Since the resumption of cruises embarking passengers now pick up their seapass cards from the mail slot outside their stateroom door. Folks are welcome to put valuables in their safe and drop off their carryon bags.  If the stateroom attendants have not finished their preparations there will be a sign on the door stating “perfection in progress.”

[MamaFej]

7 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Good:

Starlink
E-Muster

 

Bad:

Food quality
Service due to being understaffed

Price increases

We have been quite impressed with the Starlink Internet. We tend to use it to plan and book future travel on sea days.

 

The new muster procedure is quick and easy, though I do wish they would program the bar registers not to allow drinks to be ordered until people have checked into their muster stations. That would prevent the every 45 minute announcements that get increasingly stern that people need to check in befoe we can sail.

 

The check-in process is also smoother and more efficient in our experience (9 X cruises since the re-start, and several other cruises on other lines). 

 

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, someguyfl said:

Boarding process is also much better now with the online checkin. I did an Alaska cruise last year and it was something like 15 minutes from stepping foot in the door at the terminal before I was on the boat.

The process of disembarking was also much better than in the past. On that Alaska cruise, CBP in Seattle just kept announcing "Please hold your passport up over your head as you walk by so we can see your passport". Literally they just saw the cover of the passport and that was it. Could have been someone else's expired passport.

Also last year, I did a Panama Canal cruise, and disembarking from that, they didn't even ask to see that we had a passport.

My last two cruises pre-covid, they were stopping everyone, inspecting the passport, asking about what we bought overseas, etc etc ... multiple-hour-long-line.

 

Not sure why CBP became so much more lax in recent years (or if I was just lucky).

 

50 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

Since the resumption of cruises embarking passengers now pick up their seapass cards from the mail slot outside their stateroom door. Folks are welcome to put valuables in their safe and drop off their carryon bags.  If the stateroom attendants have not finished their preparations there will be a sign on the door stating “perfection in progress.”

I'm pretty sure all of these existed pre-pandemic: Online check-in, facial recognition at customs, Sea Pass cards at room slot, etc.

[Northern Aurora]

19 hours ago, RichYak said:

 

I'm pretty sure all of these existed pre-pandemic: Online check-in, facial recognition at customs, Sea Pass cards at room slot, etc.

We were actually on the Solstice in Australian waters when the pandemic was starting and cruise ships ceased passenger operations.  That was the last cruise in which I remember receiving the seapass card during pier checkin.  The first time I remember picking up our seapass cards from the stateroom mail slot was the first cruise we did after the resumption of passenger operations.

 

[RichYak]

5 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

We were actually on the Solstice in Australian waters when the pandemic was starting and cruise ships ceased passenger operations.  That was the last cruise in which I remember receiving the seapass card during pier checkin.  The first time I remember picking up our seapass cards from the stateroom mail slot was the first cruise we did after the resumption of passenger operations.

 

We sailed on Summit in December of 2019 out of San Juan, PR. We picked up our seapass cards in our stateroom's mail slot. It may have been a Revolutionized vs Non-Revolutionized thing at that time. But it definitely existed.

Edited December 9, 2023 by RichYak