Celebrity Cruises President Responds to Community Backlash
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ค. 2024
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In response to the community backlash, Celebrity Cruises' President, Laura Hodges Bethge, has addressed the concerns raised in our recent videos. Today, we'll listen to her statements and fact-check some of her claims.
In the past few videos, we discussed the community's outrage regarding recent decisions made by Celebrity Cruises, such as reducing food quality, services, and amenities previously included in the cruise price. Some of these changes include charging for cookies and eliminating butler services for suite guests.
It seems our collective voices have reached the ears of Celebrity, prompting a response. In a recent webinar, President Laura Hodges Bethge addressed these concerns and provided some explanations. This webinar was available to Captain's Circle members through their website, and I've recorded the most important segments to share with you today. Let's see what she has to say about all of this.
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Video Chapters
00:00 - Intro
01:13 - Addition of CocoCay
05:42 - Celebrity Cruises is morphing into Royal Caribbean
07:00 - Removal of butlers from sky suites
09:00 - Charging for cookies
11:38 - Reduction of aqua class amenities
13:54 - Menu changes at Blu
14:32 - Main dining room changes
16:55 - Other changes
#celebritycruises #cruise #cruiseship #cruiseblogger
I posted a long response about this video and it disappeared again...so I will have to make this into 3 or 4 parts....Part 1...The Menus in Blu are the worst since Aqua was invented on Celebrity ships...Options were cut...If you remember I spoke to the President and her Executive Officer, they claimed it made the kitchen function better...LIE..Cost cutting.
Thank you for reposting it here, Mark. I appreciate your time and feedback. Sometimes TH-cam auto flags comments. I will have to figure out how to stop that.
Laura is clearly skilled at spinning bad news .
Very disappointing to hear the president of Celebrity not being honest.
I am still in shock to be honest. I can't believe this amount of disconnect from their own Community.
She came off as a condescending phony to me. We've sailed exclusively on Celebrity since 2010 and this is so disappointing. They are sadly ruining a once stellar cruise line.
Skilled? Really? She comes across as condescending, unsympathetic and disingenuous. She has terrible skills as a CEO.
@@ShirleyMarie971 sorry I don’t understand your comment. I never said she was unskilled or even that she wasn’t skilled as a CEO. I said she lacked spin skills as per the original comment. IMO she does not come across empathetic. The delivery is patronizing and condescending. You say she is 16 years experience - great. Maybe she is a finance whizz. Maybe she should let her PR team deliver these messages.
Shes like a tory MP in the UK. Disingenuous at best, down right liar at worst. Awful woman,@@jamess7315
It’s insulting to hear her explanations when it’s so easy to fact check her lack of honesty.
Exactly.
Softball cherry picked questions, delivered by corporate agent in an obvious "damage control" moment. The Celebrity CEO was so insincere and lacking in genuine human warmth, I thought she might've been sent from skynet:). Her "interview" didnt spin me in their desired direction. Instead, it makes me want to swipe right on Celebrity.
😂😅😳 You always have the best comments. Terminator is one of my favorite movies of all time.
@@tomsunday Im a sci fi, video game, and comic book nerd. It seeps out into my comments at times. Glad you liked it. Your commentary and observations were spot on. Celebrity is not being honest. It's always the bottom line for this CEO.
@@pullcarsmelly8051 I am glad you enjoyed the commentary. Maybe one of these days I can bring some good news to our Community. She is so out of touch it hurt my head listening to this webinar.
@@tomsunday Her disingenuousness grated on me. It was almost as frustrating as her underestimation of our intelligence. She really thinks we are just that dumb. Celebrity can only cut so much.... then on to better lines.
Great video. Unfortunately, Celebrity is becoming no longer a premium cruise line. They seem to become more like a normal Royal Caribbean cruise. Down graded menu in MDR plus no longer including gratuities in the all included packaged.
I am glad you enjoyed the video! I very much agree with your statement. Celebrity Cruises is losing their hard earned reputation. They are becoming Royal Caribbean without waterslides. It's very unfortunate.
@@tomsunday RIGHT ON. Catering to the small ship experience that we miss since they got rid of the smaller ships. It is no longer a premium experience. I just got off Celebrity Eclipse and it nice HOWEVER It was like cruising on Royal Carribean and not going on the water slides or other activities. smh If they continue on this way they are going to lose some folks who really enjoy Celebrity.
She should be in congress with this bs
Good point! 😅
Final...I did a mock booking on the Ascent, the same cruise I did last year on the Edge in a Veranda...cost with air and all inclusive package $6.250...On the Ascent in 2024 CRUISE ONLY in a veranda no air fare or any package or tips...$11,450....They are out of their minds.
Wow! Thats almost double.
This president of Celebrity will take Celebrity down just like Disney found out when they had a very bad leader. I am a Celebrity Elite Plus member and I also like many others are looking at other cruise lines after all these years. After just being on the Celebrity Apex a few weeks ago, the quality of the food has gone down hill and the addition of foods for a cost added to the main dining room menu has made me feel that Celebrity is really going down hill. On this last cruise I really felt like extra costs were everywhere that were not there just a couple of years ago. I am very disappointed with Celebrity and to have a president sit here and smile while lying makes me just disgusted. I totally distrust Celebrity now. I have instructed my financial advisor to sell all my RCL stock as I feel that Celebrity will be going down in flames sooner than later. Come on Celebrity this is just awful. Thanks Tom for putting out the truth here.
You're absolutely welcome. I'm delighted that you enjoyed the video and my efforts to lay out the facts. Your sentiments in this comment resonate strongly with me. The changes, even in the past year, have been noticeable, particularly in the significant reduction in food quality. I've diligently documented many of these shifts in my recent videos, and it's clear that a substantial portion of the Celebrity Community is rightfully upset.
It's truly astonishing to witness management at Celebrity seemingly smiling at us while claiming no changes have been implemented. This glaring disconnect between the community and the management deeply saddens me, and it's disheartening to see them compromise their hard-earned reputation for what appears to be a short-sighted goal.
I genuinely appreciate your insight and feedback. I'm committed to closely monitoring this situation and promptly reporting any updates. Hopefully, they'll heed the voices of concerned individuals like yourself. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I booked my first cruise on Celebrity for March 24 and no sooner did I get my sunset Sky suite paid for then Celebrity announces, ‘hey you know all those things you paid extra for, yeah your not getting those now.” I’m contemplating how much money I’ll lose if I cancel, that’s how much I love that idea. I’ve heard people saying that now your room attendant is suppose to be your butler too. Just renaming somebody who’s already over worked is not ok.
Well said, Jobee. This is unacceptable. You paid for a level of service that you are no longer going to get. I am sorry to hear that you are upset. I would be as well. You are correct in your statement about the room attendants. I just stepped off the Equinox. I sailed in a regular room that was serviced by a "Retreat Host". This poor guy looked like he ran a maraton everytime I saw him. When I asked him if he is ok, he told me he has to take care of our floor and a few suites as well. I feel bad for both the staff and the guests. This is clearly a cost cutting measure. It really upstep me when I have to listen to Laura try to spin this in a positive. She should be ashamed of herself.
She is expecting the new / first time cruisers to outweigh the loss of business from more experienced cruisers
Thank you for your comment. This is a very good point. I agree with you. However, I dont think this strategy will work long term. Even new cruisers are saying that the food is mediocre on Celebrity. I just stepped off Celebrity Equinox and spoke to a few first time cruisers. They loved the cruise (first time is always the best) but mentioned that the food was just satisfactory. Celebrity is losing their hard earned reputation. They are very short sighted.
@@tomsunday you are right. Sooner or later the new people will slow and people start comparing. But you know what? She would have taken her bonus (significant due to the rise in profit) and change job already. It is all about the quarter and annual reports. Say after 3-5 years she would have left with a nice bonus and the company will be left to rebuild is reputation
I am Diamond Plus on Royal and Elite on Celebrity. I have stopped cruising on Royal primarily because of the quality of the food and what they have done with the Crown and Anchor program. Switched to Celebrity for my last few cruises and now they have also significantly lowered the type and quality of food. Your comments regarding the response from the president are spot on. When I cruise, I look to a positive experience, not to be aggravated and to feel nickel and dimed. If the cost of living goes up, charge more but keep the quality and quantity that was Celebrities reputation. Holland America is my next choice.
I am glad you enjoyed my commentary, Tom! You make a very good point. They should just raise prices if they want to increase profit. Nickle and diming the guests just makes them angry. Celebrity is ruining their hard earned reputation. Its a shame to see such short sighted business decisions.
I have been sailing on Celebrity since they were Chandris Fantasy cruises! They were always the leader in quality and service. But that was before the "bean counters" took over. Do not, repeat, do not go the way of the airlines, you will regret it when you find yourself on the unemployment line.
Wow! Chandris Fantasy Cruses was a long time ago! I had to google it. Thank you for always sharing your opinion here. You have a lot of experience and your feedback is very valuable.
I was just checking out Celebrity Cruises for my next vacation but after reading these comments there's no way I will cruise with them
I do not blame you. They need to do better if they want to attract the broader cruising community.
The Butler team is a joke
Just got back from a 7 day Mediterranean cruise and never saw a butler .....ever
Furthermore , nobody in our party of 3 other SkySuites saw a butler
Not true!!
Thank you for sharing your feedback, Jim. Celebrity needs to pay attention to comments like these.
On our last Carnival cruise we thought we'd splurge and get a suite with Butler service. Never saw them ever! How can they lie and get away with it?
We also don’t want ship loads of other people’s children while vacationing.
Very good point, Matthew! By the way, it was a pleasure meeting you in St. Thomas! I hope we run into each other in the future.
Yes,nice meeting you and Melissa as well.
Excatly but all those kids moms will disagree and say why can't my child go there too and they should go but not all together get another island built. They also don't like sacred places for adults only. They figure if they have to have there kids with them we people that didn't bring our kids or grandkids should be part of that too. You see countless numbers of adults always trying to sneak their kids into the adult sections. That's why Carnival had to post security people at all the adult areas dressed in shorts to look like personal to stop the moms and dads trying to do this and this is securities words not mine when I asked them. I've seen it hundreds of times same people getting caught throughout the same cruise for bringing there kids into the adults only area. I like kids I have kids and I don't let them go were their not supposed to be.
@@bigguy1403 well said! The adult only areas are not enforced on Celebrity. I noticed this many times while sailing. I also like kids but rules should be followed.
I don’t understand why families who can sail on ships with all kinds of things for kids to do choose to go on cruise lines that offer minimal things for kids to do and then complain that’s there’s not more for them.
Seems like Laural has no idea that the changes are really not working as she thinks it is. She tried to spin it but unsuccessfully
Agreed. She seems to be very disconnected from the Community.
I would recommend Laura book herself into a room and pay for it herself and see how impressed she is
She comes from a marketing background so it’s all BS lies coming from her mouth.
I more thing. The reason the mdr food is not that good is because they what you to go to the specialty restaurant and pay more. This is though out the whole cruise industry.
She does not read any comment card or reviews
Well said. Agreed. There is a major push towards the paid dining.
Their CEO really needs better media training. I am disheartened by some of these changes and I’ll let my dollars do the talking. I have one more X cruise on the Edge to Alaska and then we’re done and all future cruises are on other lines. I’ve found that I can book small ship, ultra luxury cruises for the same or less than Retreat.
Tom, would be interesting to see a video comparing prices and amenities in The Retreat to comparable itineraries on lines like Explora, Oceania, Ritz Carlton, Azmara etc.
Thank you for your comment, Luna. I appreciate your feedback. It makes a lot of sense. I will look into a comparison of Retreat to the other lines you mentioned. Your suggestions are very much appreciated. I am hoping you have a great cruise on the Celebrity Edge. It's one of my favorite vessels in the Celebrity fleet!
Total fluff ignoring/minimizing passenger concerns/complaints; came off condescending. After my upcoming April cruise on the Equinox; its time to investigate Oceania and Viking!
@@fadedlogic1 Viking is on my bucket list. I’ve only heard good things.
@@fadedlogic1 I am going to book both Oceania and Viking at the start of next year. Time to compare them to Celebrity.
@@tomsunday that’s great news; I respect your viewpoint and would very much value your take!
I know they're Royal Caribbean sister ship, but I would prefer them to not add CocoCay to their itinerary. It's already crowded as it is when its two RC cruises at Port. It just takes away from the experience!!
I very much agree with this. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
I have always loved cruising, especially Celebrity. When I first stepped aboard Celebrity, I felt I had entered a new upper scale level ofcruising. Celebrity has really lost that edge. The food quality has decreased, gratuities not included in "All Included", attention from room attendants has decreased etc. Adding a private island experience designed for kids is not going to help with this "nickel and diming" that has sadly taken over this line. Stop the upcharging. I long for the cruising when you "put your wallet away" when you stepped on board. Give me the experience offered 10 years ago and price the cruise accordingly. At least be honest about the cost and stop decreasing quality.
Well said, Sue! Thank you for sharing your opinion. I very much agree with you. I would rather them increase the cruise price than charge me for everything. I love Celebrity but will be looking at other cruise lines for 2024.
Thank you for your in-depth review. I was hoping to sail with Celebrity (for the first time) however this gives me pause. What I'm hearing is CEO-Politico Salespersonship. If I want an elevated experience I'll just book with Seabourn or Regent. I'd rather not have to deal with what appears to be cost cutting. If this is the case their service can't be very good.
You are most welcome, Jimmy. I am glad you found the video helpful. I will continue to cover this sutiation and will report any new changes asap. Hopefully Celebrity will realize that they are losing their hard earned reputation. It's sad to see how disconnected they are from their community.
Thanks Tom for being such a great advocate for the Cruise Nation!
Don't believe everything. The food on the silhouette for example two months ago was amazing except for a poor dining experience at Tuscan Grill, the food was mediocre. Otherwise everything else was good and the ship and service was stellar. Don't be afraid to sail with them. Every cruise will have something to complain about.
Thanks for the thorough review and documentation of changes. We're avid cruisers and Celebrity used to have an upscale reputation - especially for food and service. Not so much these days. I've been hearing a lot of negative about Celebrity. Sounds like a suitable time to avoid them.
You are most welcome. I will continue to report on the situation. I am hoping they change their heading. Like you mentioned, their hard earned reputation is being damaged. If things don't change, I will have to avoid them in the future as well.
Part 2...The Food portions are extremely small example..I ordered Herb Crusted Lambchops...I received 2 tiny Lambchops with two string bean across then a 2 tablespoons of Mashed potatoes. I ordered off the Main Dining Room Menus 5 out of 9 nights. I am shocked at how small the portions are and nothing I couldn't make at home with no problem.
It's sad to hear that you had to order from the MDR menu 5/9 nights when dining in Blu. Clearly, they are doing something wrong.
@@tomsunday Everything you said in this video was correct..She is lying to everyone's face.
It is a disgrace to see where this cruise line once was to where it is now...I never ever left Blu or a Main Dining Room hungry, this was the first cruise this has happened to me.
But on a positive note, the bread basket was good and the flat bread was delicious. Other then that, Celebrity has failed on the Reflection anyway.
@@butalina thank you for confirming, Mark. I appreciate your feedback.
I personally don’t think the cookie we’re “handcrafted” , more like foodservice Otis Spunkmeyer or Christine’s which normally cost about 5-7 cents a piece. ( Pastry chef & Caterer here)
Great feedback. I did not get to eat this "premium" cookie but I heard the same feedback from a few other people who were on that sailing.
Agreed. Probably Gordon Foodservice frozen dough. And, most places would use a warmer regardless of how fresh the dough is.
Lies lies lies. You can easily tell she's lying. So Fake.
Agreed. There is really no other way of putting it. I am shocked they picked this route.
Its basically the same room steward who takes care of that floor now beacame a butler too streching his schedule even more now to take care of better cabins. No extra pay for him just alot extra work.
Agreed. I noticed that on my last cruise. My room steward was also a "Retreat Host". He took care of our floor and worked on suites as well. My room was cleaned but I almost never saw him.
Hi Tom. I was on the Celebrity Reflection Aqua Class last January. We were never given canopies until I asked my reem stewart on day 3. There was less than a half of a handful of really stale potato chips with some kind of dip and a green marshmallow concoction that was disgusting. My dinner at Blue was only average and I ordered from the regular dining room on mist days. We have a family reunion every year on Celebrity and will be going this March on The Aoex. I hope it is a better run ship. We are doing consierre class this time. Great topic and thankyou for your research. Liz from Delray Beach, Fl.
Hi Liz! I am glad you enjoyed the video. Thank you for sharing your feedback. I really hope your family reunion goes well. Celebrity Apex is a great ship. It's the only Edge class ship I havent sailed on yet. I would love to hear about it once you return. Cheers!
Coveted and loved? Coco cay is a water park.
🤬Nothing more.
I live in ohio and think this is a total waste of a day.
I avoid itineraries with either Labadee or Coco Cay because they are wasted travel time.
I really don't understand where she is getting those facts. Not a single person that I have spoken to from the Celebrity Community likes CocoCay. Like you mentioned, most of them avoid Labadee and CocoCay. Btw that water park costs 150 dollars per person. Absurd.
I have been to coco cay. Was not impressed. They nickel and dime you all the way. I just booked a cruise on celebrity that does not go there.
I'm not paying 2 bucks for a cookie.
Agreed, Don. Thank you for sharing your feedback!
Just look all the way to the top. Jason Liberty had a plan he's been working on for years. And once old man Fain was out of the way, he was free to start trashing CC and RC reputations and has not slowed down on either front.
Agreed. This is a very good point. If you notice, Laura does not hold the CEO title. She is the President. He holds the power and is making these decisions. I covered his address to the investors a few videos ago. It was eye opening. I walked away with a very bad taste in my mouth.
You are 100% correct. Jason Liberty was promoted at parent RCCL from CFO (Head bean counter) to CEO after Fain retired. Typically when corporations make these type of changes and promotions, they result in major cost cutting. This is what you are witnessing at Celebrity as Ms Laura becoming the new president is from Royal Caribbean taking orders directly from Liberty.
She does not appear to be an honest person.
This whole webinar was very scripted. If her intention was to speak to the community, she should have faced the camera and spoke from the heart. I felt like an audience that was part of a talkshow.
She will make a fantastic politician one day.
Don't give her any ideas! 😅
On our recent 8 day sailing in a sky suite we never met our Butler “John” , we did have a great Retreat Host Indra.
Thank you for your feedback, Matthew! I heard a lot of people voicing their displeasure with the butler change. Sky suite is still a suite and deserves all of the benefits of the Retreat.
Whatever they're doing is for $$$$$$.
Agreed, Melvin.
Thanks, Tom, for posting this. I just returned from a cruise in Aqua Class and was surprised to hear some of these statements. I certainly noticed a degradation of service. Keep posting what we need to know!
Thank you, Peter! I am glad you found this video helpful. You can count on me. I will report any news or changes asap. I am hoping they reconsider some of these decisions. Sacrificing a hard-earned reputation for short-term goals doesn't seem like a wise move.
Thank you!@@tomsunday
We were on the Presidents Cruise this June in Alaska on the Solstice. Laura spoke before the show on one occasion and she was very unimpressive then. She can not even rise to the occasion of credibility in this soft ball interview! Food was a concern on that sailing. We were in Concierge, the welcome lunch was a joke(dry, cold chicken cutlet with french fries), canapes gross (only delivered once), coffee and pastries at the Al Bacio horrible, surf and turf night was sub par. Murano was good, but a couple we met went to Tuscan and said it was on par with MDR. We did have a few mains that were good, one outstanding fish entree. Just came off a week long sailing on MSC Seascape and found the food better overall compared to recent RCL and Celebrity sailings. The prime rib was very good, tender and tasty. My husband said the steak diane was very good as well. The surf and turf wasn't huge but much better prepared than on Celebrity (Royal sailings did not offer). Keep up the pressure Tom! Shame Celebrity into a better customer experience!
Thank you for your feedback and all of the details. I am surprised to hear Tuscan was not good. However I am not surprised about the welcome lunch, canopes, pastries and etc. I am so not impressed with the food offerings on Celebrity. My next video will showcase the new menus Celebrity is planning to roll out on their ships. It will be out this friday if you are interested in checking it out. I will continue to monitor this situation and will report on any changes as soon as they happen. Thank you for the words of encouragement. I will do my best to show everyone the truth.
We sailed on the Solstice in Sept and agree that the entrees were very marginal. We are not gourmets at all and not picky but we couldn’t get a good quality hamburger even the MDR. Expected better. Sides breads and desserts were good
I’d say don’t get off the ship when you get to that expensive island and stay on the ship. Free food, drinks and sun. Don’t buy the cookie. Concierges class have to pay for premium breakfast that was part of that class, so stuck to basic breakfast in our room. Just going for veranda class now.
Good tips. Thank you for sharing.
Laura, I suggest you read these comments and concerns as they are directly from your customers. I agree, I use to think Celebrity was the Mac Daddy of the Cruise industry especially in regards to food. I went on the Equinox, please Get rid of your pastry/dessert chef. I think the crab cakes were from Sams Club 😂Just Horrible.
Thank you for sharing, Henry. I very much agree. The desserts on the Equinox were bad. I stopped trying them after day 2.
Take a look at Silver Sea at their entry level and compare with a Sky Suite. When I looked last week for a new year's eve cruise Silver Sea cost $2000 less and included more things like gratuities and shore exertions. And yes a butler.
This is a great point. I did a price comparison a few videos ago. I discovered that even regular veranda rooms come out to be the same as Oceania and a few other luxury lines. Once you add all of the packages, extra charges, nickle and diming and etc......the price comes out to be the same. I am considering booking Oceania in the beginning of 2024. Once I do, i will make a series of videos comparing all aspects of those cruise lines to Celebrity.
Oh I completely agree. On a per diem basis, especially depending on the itinerary and time of year, Oceania is already NO more expense, and in some cases less expensive than Celebrity and for a MUCH better product and amazing food.@@tomsunday
@@jaywoods378 thank you for the feedback. I am really looking forward to showcasing that experience and comparing it to Celebrity. The fact that you mention amazing food makes it even more exciting!!!
Thanks Tom for posting this. I have been one to complain as well. We recently had a back to back in Europe. Their very limited menu is very tough for long cruises. My friend had one dish several times since there wasn’t much to choose from. They’re pushing you to specialty restaurants. I don’t expect every meal to be a grand slam but give us choices. Very low end choices as well. The CEO spun this in a well spoken manner, but in the end let’s face it, food is a huge part of cruising. Making me rethink things for sure. We gave another back to back next year that will be 21 days. Hoping they add a couple more items every night by then. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Every night it seemed there was chicken and some kind of cheap beef. Prices are going up and quality and variety are going down. Is Celebrity reading their reviews and comment cards, and watching videos like this? They should be. The standard of service is still great. Don’t let food be the issue that tarnishes their reputation.
You are most welcome, Joann! I am glad you found this video helpful. I very much agree with you. Buying a dining package is almost a given if you want to have a good food experience. Its a shame they are ruining their hard earned reputation for such short sighted goals.
Thank you, Tom, for putting this video together. It was informative and useful for future cruises. As loyal Celebrity cruisers, my wife and I are looking at other premium cruise lines moving forward.
You are most welcome, Mick! I am glad you found this video useful. I look forward to hearing about your adventures on the high seas. Let me know if you find any good cruises. I am considering Oceania and Virgin for next year.
My husband and I cruise Princess. We're a cruise or two away from Captain's Circle Elite. We have been on Celebrity three times, Royal Caribbean three times and NCL six. We're finding the all of the cruise lines arena lock step in charging for experiences and specialty dining options that were previously included in your fare or accommodation level. For us in our mid 50's, cruising is still the most convenient, cost efficient and safe way to travel. On a recent cruise what we didn't do was use those services that were previously free. One of the speciality restaurants was empty for most of our cruise. We can make our displeasure known by not patronizing the service.
New Cruiser here. We have been on two Celebrity Cruises in the last 7 months. I don't eat the cookies, so that is not a big deal to me. We did eat at Blu on our first cruise back in Dec. 2023 as we were in Aqua Class. The food was fabulous and the portion size was adequate. We ate at the main dining room on our 2nd cruise in March 2024 and the food was good, but not great. We did opt to eat at the pay restaurants 3 times on that cruise. We are staying in the suite in October 2024, and I am expecting excellent food and service. Honestly, I do not know how things were previously, but we have enjoyed our cruises on Celebrity. The only complaint I would have is Aqua Class did not seem worth the extra charge. The room had a few upgrades and Blu, but other than that there was not much else to it.
I am glad you enjoyed your first set of cruises! Welcome to our Community. Have you tried the Thermal Suites? It's one of the major perks while sailing in Aqua.
I just came back from the the celebrity edge in europe and stayed in a sky suite. We met the butler the first day we arrived and that was the first and last time we saw him. He stated we should contact our housekeeper if we need or have any question. We should only contact him if she was unavailable..
Wow. Thank you for sharing. That's unacceptable for a Retreat experience.
Good Job Tom. Speaking Truth to Power.
Thank you, Bill!
Total embarrassment, it’s very Obvious this CEO has no clue what’s going on with her ships. Lots of lies and deceptions and should be replaced immediately.
I have Edge & Beyond booked for next year, now I’m starting to rethink this, I can get this food quality on Carnival for a lot less. Sad.
Well said. A few people actually mentioned that the food quality on Carnival is going up. They said its better than Celebrity. I was shocked to hear this. You are right. Its very sad.
The Celebrity CEO seemed to be very insincere. I hope I’m mistaken since Celebrity has been my go to cruise line for regular cruises. But, I’ll definitely change if what Tom Sunday says proves to be true on my next cruise.
I am looking forward to hearing the feedback once you return. I hope you have a great cruise!
Oh great. So now it will be even more mobbed. There’s 150 guests allowed in Beach Club, so whoever reserved first will get priority. This is bad news for Royal guests.
Agreed. It's bad news for everyone except RC's bottom line.
Btw, great video Tom. We ate in 3 specialty restaurants on our 8 night on the Equinox. My wife couldn’t stand the MDR menu.
Thank you, Steven! I am glad you enjoyed the video. I also had a dinner package for half of my cruise. I very much agree with your Wife. The only reason we went to the MDR was to showcase it in the upcoming deep dive review.
Ahhh the classic tactic of taking no blame and instead flipping it on the travelers because "they dont want to waste food"...what BS.
I honestly can't believe she thought this would fly with the community. We are not stupid!
Tom, thanks SO much for posting not only the Q&A, but your analysis of her "exec speak", which was aimed at *investors*, not *customers. * If it was truly intended to set the record straight, the questions would have come from a live group of people and not curated ahead of time. We cruise 2-3:times per year and were considering our first Celebrity cruise in late 2024...but not after these cost-cutting/profit-maximizing changes!
You're very welcome, Ross. I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed the video and my commentary. I wholeheartedly agree with your perspective. It's evident that this webinar was produced with investors in mind, a significant misstep on their part. Investors prioritize profit, but for customers, it's all about the experience. They've certainly missed the mark by a wide margin.
It's disheartening to witness how disconnected they are from their community. I'll persist in investigating this and promptly report any developments. Deep down, I hold out hope that they'll course-correct and rectify their direction. Otherwise, I'll be exploring cruises with other cruise lines, starting next year. I have a cruise booked on the Ascent in less than 50 days, and I'm hoping it won't be my last with Celebrity. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Cheers!
This is really disappointing as we’re getting ready to do our first celebrity cruise next year.
I hope that you Find a better cruise line. Celebrity has turned into a money grab cruise line.
I am sorry you are disappointed, Chris. I will continue to monitor this situation and will report asap. I am hoping to have good news for your soon. Noone should be disappointed about their upcoming cruise. Celebrity should read this comment and be ashamed of themselves.
Just returned from Reflection Med cruise. Very disappointed in most of the food quality outside of Murano and Le Petite Chef. Unimpressed with meals at Luminae, Blu, Tuscan Grill, Opus and buffet. Food is key to my wife and I cruising so until we hear of improvements we will looking for alternate options.
Cruise industry debt obligations have risen dramatically with covid and inflation. I expect they are attempting to do their best to increase revenue to deal with debt and also and keep passengers happy. The island too is an obvious opportunity to improve their bottom line. Unfortunately as long as people are willing to pay the price things seem unlikely to get better for passengers imo.
Thank you for the feedback. Even Luminae? Wow this is sad to hear. I was looking forward to trying it at some point in the future. Sounds like even Retreat guests are seeing cuts in food. I am also a big foodie and love cruising because of that. I have one more cruise booked with Celebrity. After which I will be trying Viking and Oceania. I will be making lots of comparison videos. Food will be my focus. Have you ever sailed with them? I would appreciate any insight you have to offer. Thank you for always commenting and offering your feedback. I appreciate you.
My husband and I stayed in a Royal Suite this summer on the Celebrity Solstice. Honestly, the perks of having a designated butler were negligible. We did have an awesome cabin attendant, but the butler service wasn’t anything special.
Thank you for sharing! I appreciate your feedback. Did you enjoy Luminae? I would love to review that restaurant and see how it compares to the paid options on Celebrity ships.
We stayed in the same suite it was a beautiful room.
We had 1 lunch and 1 dinner there, and the food was pretty good. We never ate at the mdr so I can’t compare the two. What we did love about Luminae was the breakfast. We went there every morning, and every morning the food was fantastic. The service was over the top great on every occasion.
Yes, we loved the room!😊@@bigguy1403
@@tomsunday *See below
Wow, thanks for opening my eyes. Food on Royal Caribbean has gotten so bad we were going to move to Celebrity because we remember how good it was. I think I'll do more research and maybe try Oceania as you mentioned. Great video.
I am glad you enjoyed the video. That is my plan as well. I am going to test out Oceania and Virgin at the start of next year. I heard great things about their food. Time to compare them to Celebrity.
Only Sky Suites, the class that we typically book, lost benefits when the designated butler was removed. Oddly, all forms of Sky Suites (Agua, Magic Carpet, Sunset) make up the majority of suites on any ship. Therefore, a slim percentage of guests still have a designated butler. The “team” was already in the retreat to help with a variety of guest requests. Therefore, this is not an improvement. Formerly, we had a room steward and butler AND a team in the retreat lounge. Now our steward, renamed “host” is responsible for everything from cleaning the room to refilling water (also downgraded), etc. But, the cost didn’t go down. This is a horrible change for those that already paid a lot for the services. She lies.
You bring up a very valid point, Renee! Thank you for sharing your feedback. This is very much a downgrade in services you already paid for. A lot of guests are upset with this. I just sailed on the Equinox and noticed my room steward's business card listed him as a "Retreat Host". This poor guy had to take care of the regular verandas and suites as well. Like you mentioned. They took 3 jobs and combined them into one. Guests suffer. Staff suffers. Celebrity makes more money.
And, I wonder about the tip issue. No matter what one thinks about tipping, I’m sure that the staff will suffer from folks removing tips from their bill. I made this point in an email to CS for Celebrity. But, I was given the company line in response. We will see…my husband and I are in a Sky Suite on the Ascent in December.
@@reneesendlessstyle8144 thats a good point as well. I think the staff will suffer. Its just a way for Celebrity to squeeze more money from their Retreat guests (maybe even at the expense of their staff). It's completely unacceptable. Btw, I will be on the Ascent in December as well. Maybe we will run into each other. I would to hear more about your perspective. Thank you for your comment.
Which sailing? We are on the December 17 one. I chose it to celebrate my 60th (December 19).
@@reneesendlessstyle8144 I am on the December 10th! I hope you have a great birthday cruise!
On a positive note, just got off Reflection, and the main dining room food was fantastic. I was so disappointed by Equinox a year and a half ago, so I am glad they appear to be listening.
Great news! Thank you for sharing.
Adding Coco Cay was a move to increase the familys on board. It is very expensive in general and again very expensive to use the no kid areas. I am not impressed.
That's a good point. I really wish they added that area for free to everyone. First come, first serve. No need to make that into an excursion.
As well as yet another way to downgrade the product.
We were told unsolicited by room attendant that in aqua class there are no more canapé offerings. We were told this the first day of our cruise 10/23/23.
We were told the exact same thing while sailing in Aqua on the Beyond.
😬
Tom, THANKS for mentioning the cancelling of the Beyond Mediterranean cruises. I am still fuming over this. Burnt my vacation and my cash. You should have seen the cancellation letter - how happy they were to do this. NO remorse on their end.
You are welcome, Eric. I am really sorry to hear that you have to deal with this nonesense. It's unacceptable especially since this was a profit driven decision. I understand why you are so mad. I would be as well.
Great fact checking. What a PR flop. A complete disregard for the intelligence of the sailing community. Boldface mistruths. Calling to cancel our lone booking now. $ better spent anywhere else.
Thank you! I'm really pleased that you enjoyed the video. Honestly, it's quite surprising that they believed we wouldn't notice this. It's simply unacceptable.
Slam dunk! You are absolutely correct 100%. It is crystal clear that Celebrity is cutting costs everywhere. Over our last three cruises it has been so clearly noticeable. As a result, sadly after 15 cruises with RC/Celebrity, we have are considering alternatives for the future.
I am glad you enjoyed the video. I am also looking at other options at the start of 2024. I will try Virgin and Oceania. Let's see how they stack up against Celebrity.
Tom, like most cruise lines this CEO is simply vomiting Celebrety Kool Aid.
Hi William. I was honestly a bit shocked at how inaccurate she was in her statements to the public. When she said no changes were made, I almost spit out my drink.
@tomsunday it's because she's trying to make sure her Xmas bonus stays nice and Big! She's 100% a company brown nose.
wow huge disconnect between their pronouncements and reality
Agreed!
We sailed on the Reflection in the Med last spring. We felt the service was just great as it was pre-Covid but there were some items missing from the MDR menu. New York cheesecake for example. However when I asked the waiter about it, he smiled and brought me slice. Don't know why they were hiding it. We've sailed in Concierge class a couple of times and I could take or leave the canapés...not that great a perk.
Good point about the cheesecake! I just stepped off the Equinox and noticed it was missing from the MDR menus during my entire cruise. No cheesecake at all.
I think this blow would of hit less if the adult beach was included with Celebrity Guests.
Agreed. It should have been free.
Lies, lies, lies, and more lies.
Very insulting to the Celebrity Cruises Community. We are not stupid. I can't beleive she did not think we were going to call her out on this.
We were considering booking a 2024 cruise on Celebrity in the Retreat. After seeing your video & hearing the double talk from the CEO and reading all the comments, we will book elsewhere.
I am glad I was able to help. I will continue to monitor this situation and will report any changes asap.
She’s lying!
She is either lying, misinformed or doesn't know what is happening on her own ships. If she wanted to address the community, she should have spoken from the heart. Better not to say anything than to lie. Really bad move.
Seems like the only difference between RC and Cleb. Is the paint on the ships and the price.
Exactly. Celebrity is turning into RC without water slides.
We just returned from a cruise on the Summit and I have to say the food quality has really gone downhill. Many nights I ordered soup and it came barely warm and had little to no taste. Many nights I wound up ordering off of the Vegetarian menu, because nothing on the main menu was appealing. We were traveling with another couple who have food issues and they would order the chicken breast. It came cold and tougher than shoe leather to cut! They didn’t order it again after 2 nights!
Thank you for your feedback, Terry. I am reading similar experiences from other comments in this video. Its a shame how short sighted Celebrity is. They are runing their hard earned reputation. Not a good business move.
Excellent video, I can attest to the fact that everything you said is 100 percent true. We took a Canada/New England cruise in September with Celebrity. The food was absolutely despicable, and that is not an exaggeration. The quality of the food in the main dining room is nowhere near what Celebrity has offered in years past. We've cruised with Celebrity many times, dating back about 15 years, and the quality of food all around is just awful. After our cruise, when I received the Celebrity survey, I stated that their food in every venue is akin to sailing with Carnival, except that we are paying a LOT more money to cruise with Celebrity. And the cookies ..... lol ...... had to laugh because, as you said, even the cookies near the ice cream area, the "free" cookies tasted like something you'd buy at the grocery store, in a package of 12, for about $1.99. Then, I tasted a bit of Orange Cake, I took one bite and it had no flavor at all. It actually did not taste like anything. I'm so happy to know that others are speaking up and, at some point, this just has to force Celebrity to make improvements in many areas, but certainly as it pertains to food. Thank you for this excellent video.
I am glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you for such a detailed response. I really appreciate your feedback. I shared a lot of our concerns directly with the president of Celebrity. I am hoping they start implementing changes soon. It would be a shame to ruin their hard earned reputation due to these short-sighted business decisions. Thank you for your comment. I look forward to more conversation. Cheers!
I think Labadee would have been a better choice for Celebrity especially if no other ships were there.
I actually like Labadee a lot more than CocoCay. I am sure the reason they picked CocoCay was the expansion and extra charges for the adults only area. Not sure. maybe Labadee will also get expanded at some point.
We just came back from the Celebrity Eclipse. Buffet food was just a bunch of mushy nothing! Didn’t see a normal cold cuts or smoked salmon! No decent fish, horrible mushy pizzas! MDR food had super poor food selections! Cafe Al Bacchio did have JUST ok sweets! Coffees were good there. But the entertainment was superb!
Thank you for your feedback. I just finished sailing on the Equinox and feel like we had a very similar experience.
@@tomsunday 3 nights out of 7, we ate at the specialty restaurants and they were good. I would say that it’s probably better to spend money on the specialty restaurants than on the room upgrade!
I'm a loyal Royal Caribbean cruiser who dabbles with Celebrity for special itineraries. I always felt you sail with Royal for a basic cruise at an attractive price. You sail on Celebrity for a killer itinerary.
By moving ships from the Mediterranean and South America to the Caribbean, they've largely eliminated that reason for me to sail with them.
As far as combining the two programs, I'm in favor of the concept, but the devil will likely be in the details. There's no doubt in my mind that both Captain's Club and Crown and Anchor members will find something in the change to hate.
Well said, Steve. I wonder how much money they are estamating on making by cancelling so many European cruises. They are repositioning a significant amount of ship to sail round trips from Florida to the Caribbean.
Awesome video! My thoughts exactly. Leave on TA on Silhouette in 5 days, first cruise since “menu enhancements”. Last cruise was in May on Solstice to Alaska and the food quality/selection was good. Real appetizers (crab cakes, shrimp tempura, etc.) which are all missing. I looked at the menus on Celebrity App for my upcoming cruise and I am now dreading eating in the MDR. 🤬! Your description of food now served in buffet for dinner sounds dismal and disgusting. New subscriber here! Look forward to your video on your food experience. When I return, I will compare.
@@MB-uy5kh Thank you for subscribing! I'm thrilled you've chosen to be a part of our community. I've got to say, the menus have been quite disappointing lately. However, the good news is that I'll be releasing a new video that delves into the new MDR menus on the Equinox. This ship seems to be their testing ground, and I'll have it ready for you by Friday. Keep an eye out for a buffet tour video a few days after that. I genuinely hope that your upcoming cruise on the Silhouette is fantastic! I'm looking forward to hearing about your experiences, and who knows, maybe you'll have a great culinary adventure that proves me wrong. Wishing you a safe and enjoyable journey. Cheers!
Thank you for doing a video like this, I hope someone from X sees it. As everyone can imagine, there are multiple FB groups, there's one general just for the Enquinox, there can be one or even two groups specific to the sailing, there's a gamblers group, etc. Some on these groups stated they have never complained to X before but because of "cookiegake" which was the perceived elimination of complimenty cookies, complained to X not only about cookiegate but also added any topic that bothered them. The Cookiegate outage was most likely what got X to even pay attention to what's being posted on the internet because before, they hardly ever reversed any of the cutback despite complaints. Their baked goods are bland and not worth the calories. They're "greenwashing" the AQ/CC daily Canapes as the solution to eliminating food waste is to make (wait for it!), great tasting food. No mention of the mast grill which, let's be honest, simply sucks. They did say they'll be doing a focus group with the MDR food so who knows what changes, if any they'll be. Keep up the great content!
Thank you for your kind words, and I'm thrilled to hear you're enjoying the videos. You've made some excellent observations, and I wholeheartedly agree with your points regarding baked goods and, in particular, the canapés. You've expressed it well - these canapés often appear to be leftover items from the previous night's buffet. I even noticed this practice on the Summit, where the next day's canapés seemed to be repurposed from the previous evening's buffet. It's utterly unacceptable, and despite concerns about food waste, I couldn't bring myself to consume them due to their poor quality.
Speaking of changes in the main dining room, I recommend you watch my video that's set to be released this Friday. It will shed light on the new MDR menus that Celebrity plans to implement across their fleet, and I must say, it's quite shocking.
@@tomsunday It appears that X has finally updated their posting of the menus now on their app site. I was able to take a peek and it looks as if they have really taken the quality of the food down quite a bit. Since I have a reservation on the Silhouette in February, I’m beginning to think this will be my last cruise with Celebrity. This is what happens when the parent company RCCL promotes their CFO to CEO. Glorified bean counters micromanaging every cost. And the new President of Celebrity is just a lackey walking the same talk.
Thank you for the great video. We've sailed multiple times in a Sky Suite, most recently on the Beyond. Our next cruise is in a panoramic oceanview. I'm voting with my dollars, and I hope Celebrity notices. As an elite Captains Club member, I honestly feel as though the brand is heading the wrong direction. It's not the same line that I took on my honeymoon is 2014. Every time we sail, we're less impressed, to the point that I'm not sure how many more we'll take. Coco Cay is an ABSOULTE disaster of an idea. That's exactly NOT why I sail on Celebrity and they better do some serious client outreach to get a true sense of how to maintain their brand.☹
You are most welcome, Christopher. I am glad you like the video. I couldn't agree with you more. This brand is heading in the wrong direction. I am hoping they start turning things around very soon. It's a shame to waste a good reputation on such short-term goals. I appreciate your comment and this conversation.
Im going on a cruise with my wife for our 25th anniversary next week to Coco Cay and Nassau on the Reflection. Celebrity is supposed to be a step up from Royal Caribbean. the only thing available was Aqua class and it was still less expensive then a port room on the exact same cruise with Royal Caribbean. It seems to me that Celebrity wants to get the middle class family market. But there ships are geered for adults not kids. Interesting to see how this works out for them. Still, Im extremely exited for this cruise. I saved my TH-cam advertising revenue for 2 years to pay for this cruise, and I cant wait.
I hope you enjoy your cruise! Let me know your thoughts once you return.
Well we just go home a few hrs ago from a 10 day Summit cruise out of Boston and I can tell you with certainty that the food quality in the main dining room has dropped. The portion size has shrunk. I took a picture of the lobster tail with my fork next to it so you can see the size. Its bloody small. The salmon portion was the size of two fingers. We found the selection and the food quality in the buffet far superior even at dinner. The menu has shrunk noticeably. Celebrity is dropping in their rankings. They are far from a 5.5 star ranking, more like a 4.5 star. Also, why does Celebrity post the dress code for evening dining? I swear 30 percent at least looked like they just came in from the fields without changing. Shorts, tank tops, T Shirts with logos all over them. Sandals from the beach. Good God people put a little effort into it. This was everynight not just the last night.
We were on the same cruise. We were also very disappointed with the food quality. First cruise I actually lost weight on. Time to take a break from cruising.
Hi Joe. Thank you very much for sharing your post-cruise feedback. I am really sorry to hear about your experience. I have to agree with you, the buffet on the summit was much better than MDR. I noticed this as well. Portions were tiny. I normally ordered 2 meals. Same for the dress code. It was not enforced at all. I noticed someone wearing short on the last formal night! They let that person in without any issues.
Hi Joseph. Thanks for your comment as well. I am sorry to hear that you are not enjoying your cruise either. I am thinking about sailing with Virgin and Oceania in a few months. I will make detailed comparisons and see how other cruise lines stack up against Celebrity. Hopefully I can report good news and you can get back to a pleasant cruise experience.
Hi Tom. We have a transatlantic in April out of Fort lauderdale to Lisbon on the Equinox. It will be interesting to see how the two cruises differ. It may be time for me to look at other cruise options if Celebrity keeps going downhill. Look forward to your videos on those cruises. keep up the great vlogs your one of a few who call it like it is. Thanks@@tomsunday
@joethetravelguy6943 thank you for your kind words, Joe! They mean a lot to me. I will continue with the videos. In fact, I just finished my sailing on the Equinox. I have a ton of videos coming very soon. The buffet tour is next. It should be out in a few days.
Every decision they make is designed to drive up earnings. You don’t need to listen to her try to explain. We’re on the Millennium in Japan next Spring. We overpaid for Aqua because of downgrades to food quality in the main dining room. Going forward, we’ll focus more on Oceania and Azamara.
The main dining room downgrades are shocking. I will be releasing a video this friday which will cover the new MDR menu Celebrity is planning on rolling out to their fleet. I hope you have a good Aqua cruise experience on the Millennium. I am looking forward to hearing your feedback.
Seems like a plan to force passengers to pay restaurants.
We have been on 51 cruises - and have an Elite Plus classification with Celebrity. We always book a Suite - and if there is NOT a butler on our upcoming cruise - we are going to STOP booking with Celebrity and find a better cruise line! A designated butler is one of the reasons we have continued to book a suite on Celebrity - and this change that we are reading about on Celebrity will be a deal breaker for us!
Thank you for calling out her lies. It’s 1 thing to just admit you made changes, it’s another to think we wouldn’t notice?
You are welcome. Truth and facts matter to me. I will continue to monitor the situation. I will report any news asap. Thank you for your comment.
The deal with cookies… Royal always gave us free cookies in the cabin. They just stopped it. So now Celebrity is charging for them. Ridiculous.
They reversed their decision to charge for them after 3 days. The community was quite clear about their dislike for this charge. Similar to the pizza charge on RC.
Great of you to call them out on it!
I just returned today from a cruise on the Eclipse. I have been a TA since 1982 and make sure the majority of my groups sail on Royal or Celebrity. It was sickening to see the quality of Celebrity sink so low. The dining room meals were so bad we gave up and finished the week dining in Ocean view cafe. Some nights when food so bad to start we just sat informed waiter to cancel and we looked fir another place to eat. The canapés were not offered we had to request. Most were not edible. I can understand smaller servings but why should the taste and quality deteriorate? Unfortunately i won't sail on their ships until i hear that quality improves.
Thank you for sharing your feedback. I very much agree. It's really sad watching Celebrity management ruin their reputation.
I retired more than 15 years, I like go to the Casino to play games 4 to 5 times a week, then we either will go to the Buffet or the VIP lounge for dinner, for the last 15 years, I tasted more than 3000 times either in their buffet or VIP lounges. In general, they are quite good. They are a lot better the MDR, especially the American dishes in MDR are subpar.
Especially all their soups are watery, since they are using POWDER for their soup base. MDR should use fresh ingredients for their soup base, not just Powder for the soup base for their connivence, in It is quite easy using real bean, real green pea (not green pea powder) and real diced potato for their soup base, they use grain powder for their watery soup base, they are unacceptable.
Just home from 19 days on Reflection in the Med. Thought service and food quality was very good. Staff was amazing!
I am glad you enjoyed your cruise, Gary!
Hey Tom. Were you on the Equinox September 30 th, 8 night to Eastern Caribbean?
Hi Steven! Yes, I was on that cruise. Did we run into each other?
@@tomsunday no but I thought I recognized you. I saw you in the buffet. I wanted to say hello but you were gone. Lol
@@stevenchinich3738 That was me! Good eye. I was running around and gathering content for the upcoming video series about the Equinox. I wish we could have met! There were several subscribers from this channel on our cruise. It would of made my day if we got to chat. Maybe we will run into each other in the future. I look forward to it, Steve. Did you enjoy your cruise?!
Yes. My wife and I have been on the Equinox 3 times now. Going on the Silhouette and the Ascent next, however I’ll be in a sunset veranda on the Ascent. Wouldn’t stay in an IV. I know you like it.
@stevenchinich3738 I am actually sailing in a Sunset Veranda on the Ascent in 54 days! I'm excited to check out the new ship.
We sailed the Reflection in Sept 2023. It was about a 5 out of 10 whereas our sailing on the Summit several years ago was a 10 out of 10. Boy have things changed and our biggest gripe is the MDR. On the Summit everyone looked forward to dinner and their fantastic desserts. On the Reflection after the first or second night it was dullsville and many people stopped coming including the other 6 people at our table; at most we ate there 4 of the 9 nights. One they take too long to serve and we missed shows as dinner should not take 1 hour and 45 minutes. Also, food quality subpar and the buffet wasn't anything great to talk about including this pretty but tasteless desserts. We went to the coffee bar for free dessert as they had some taste. 80% of the calendar was shopping items although some of the entertainment was very good. One last thing...we were Concierge Class and those so called afternoon canapés sucked! We continued to get them hoping for something good but we also were disappointed. Our room and the service were great but not enough to bring us back to the Reflection. FYI - the dining room manager seemed to stop by our table in the MDR each night we were there probably as there were so few people to talk to. We mentioned what was good like the pastas but we didn't complain about the rest; in hindsight I wish we said something. About two weeks after the cruise I clicked on the email they send asking my opinion and they said it was no longer valid. So I'll just let them know here on your YT video site. BTW - I swore the Summit had a piano bar or at least a guy that played piano every night. The Reflection could use that as well as entertainment was sparse,
One last comment about food waste: It is true. A couple nights another couple at our table both ordered 2 appetizers and 2 entrees saying they wanted their monies worth. Nice people but odd behavior as they were full by the 2nd entree and usually left it half eaten. For that reason I don't mind the smaller portions. I did ask for an extra entree one night and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Next cruise is RC in November, let's see if I can enjoy their MDR this time round.
Thank you for your incredibly detailed and thoughtful review; it's been a pleasure to read. Your insights and experiences resonate with mine during my recent cruise aboard the Celebrity Equinox, particularly regarding the main dining room. To delve further into these changes, I'm planning to release a comprehensive video this Friday, where I'll show the new main dining room menu that Celebrity intends to implement throughout its fleet. I must say it's nothing short of shocking.
By the way, a few months ago, I sailed on the Summit, and I must commend them for the vibrant musical venues they offered. These included performances in Cellar Masters, Rendezvous Lounge, and the Grand Foyer each night, featuring various instruments like the piano, guitar, violin, and more. It added a lively and enjoyable atmosphere to the cruise.
Once again, thank you for your comment and your valuable insights. I hope your upcoming cruise in November is filled with wonderful experiences, and I look forward to hearing your feedback upon your return. Cheers!
Great video. I would appreciate a like by like comparison of MDR meals over the past year.
I am glad you enjoyed the video! I will add your request to my list. Once I am done with the video series from the Equinox, I will get to work on the comparison. Thank you for the comment.
Been on 3 celebrity cruises with a 4th coming up in May. Whats really disappointing is her absolute corporate speak bullshit.
I work for a major PLC in the UK and have to listen to this sort of corporate word salad constantly.
Its not only annoying, it makes those that talk like it look and sound like idiots.
She could be a tory MP in the UK, just lying or answering a different question to the one asked.
Very Poor answers, showing her complete disregard to its customer base.
Do they people go to some weird school to learn to be like this?
Watching Laura smile while she spin doctors her slimy responses to genuine customer concerns makes my stomach turn flips. I also just watched your video about the increase in wine prices, allowing passengers to buy into former Retreat only benefits and charging for a Water package. I just want a package price that includes everything like before. Why remove just tips? We were on the Eclipse recently and will be on it again in March. What bothered me the most were the constant lines in MDR for Anytime dining - we had to wait even with a reservation. We usually avoid the Buffett as we like sit down service. The few times we ate there, it was a complete zoo. People shoving to get food, drink machines often out of beverages, no one at the hand sanitation stations so many cruisers were just passing by it, no direction in the lines so people coming from every direction - AAARG! We’ll see how it goes but have booked our next cruise with Oceania.
Was just on the Ascent. Beautiful ship, food was good and service also. What I did not like was, we pre- bought dinner for six in Eden. When we got there, they wanted an up charge of $35 per person to have the tasting menu. Yet we could get anything we wanted from the right side of the menu, which is virtually the same. Very unfortunate. Was not like that on the Edge a year ago.
Very informative!
Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed the video.
My husband and I are sailing on Celebrity for the first time at the end of this month. I am disappointed in hearing about all the changes. We always sail on Royal Caribbean.
Hi Katherine. I have a video coming out tomorrow afternoon that will provide an update regarding this situation. I will continue to monitor for updates and hope to bring you good news soon. Either way, I hope you enjoy your cruise at the end of the month. Cheers!
We are scheduled to go on a Canada and New England cruise in Sept. of ‘24. Hope things improve before then. We usually sail with Viking or Oceania so expectations are high. This will be our first cruise with Celebrity. We will be on the Eclipse.
Eclipse is a great ship. I hope you enjoy your cruise!
Celebrity Summit also has problem with the Spa Cafe, it has many jars of fruit juice mixes on the display, they are always full, they look great. however they put the half full or half empty jars back to the refrigerator at night, then take those half empty jars out from the refrigerator in the morning, i was shocked in the mornings, they just add some fresh fruit juice mixes back to the old jars with the day old juice mix, it is not acceptable and is not hygiene. the old juice mix may sat in the jars on the display table for many hours on the day before, they should dump or serve them in small cups for taste test samples for all the old juice mix at the end of the day. All the jars should be cleaned.
As a minimum, MDR should use fresh ingredients for their soup base, not just adding Powder for the soup base for their connivence, in It is quite easy using real bean, green pea and diced potato for their soup base, they use grain powder for their watery soup base, they are unacceptable. they may need to hire a new Chef.
This puts me off of ever cruising. I wish there was more truth about the compensation given to creators who somehow manage to cruise continuously even though they claim to not get tickets for free. Ad revenue is not that good to afford this lifestyle and pay your bills. Advertising agencies, cruise companies no doubt pay or reimburse for these so called average Joe's to go out and pretend to not be selling a fiction to non-cruisers like me. An act is an act and those videos are long form commercials just no one is admitting it.
You make a very good point. Thank you for sharing it here. Technically speaking they should be putting #ad in their titles/descriptions and etc. There is a law against this but some people try to walk around it. A viewer should know if the video is sponsored or a genuine opinion. If you wanted to watch a commercial, you would just go to their website or put on tv.
What about charging solo travelers triple occupancy?? Let us have our solo cabins back!
My one complaint is food quality. It has been poorer since Covid. Period.
Agreed, Frank!
Excellent informative video that no one else is covering. Thank you!
You are most welcome. I am glad you found the video informative. I will be releasing a follow up this friday. Celebrity is planning very big main dining room menu changes. In fridays video I'll show you what they are. I hope to see you then. Cheers!