Alaska first time cruiser
George Wampler
from anyone who would be able to furnish us with information on their
experiences on Celebrity cruise lines.
Tom & Linda
be out in a few days.
--Tom (who's been on and loved both the Century and Galaxy)
JLeary256
considerable savings.
Benjamin Smith
wrote:
>We are going on our first cruise in September. We would like to hear
>from anyone who would be able to furnish us with information on their
>experiences on Celebrity cruise lines.
I just did it. I'm working on a review but it will take a few days.
For Alaska I much prefer Galaxy as a ship than Mercury. I toured Mercury
while she was in Skagway. Galaxy is more vibrant, rooms flow together
better, some rooms evocative of earlier periods like the Savoy Night Club.
Mercury's darker and has simpler look overall, but I hear she's amazing at
night. I toured her during the day hours. Layout of rooms are much
different, ships are two different worlds although they are identical from
without. Galaxy is now my favorite ship over the Holland America Veendam
and over her older fleetmate Zenith (which I would highly recommend and
also recommend over the Mercury *Newer* is NOT better in this case). I
prefer Galaxy's style to Grand Princess also, but she's comparable in
almost every way to the Grand in terms of quality of furnishings. She's a
different interpretation of a premium ship. She's maintained to very strict
standards, so she's constantly being cleaned or areas of disrepair actively
replaced.
Overall Galaxy is a subtle fine ship with overall fine detailed
presentation, fine foods although some of the lido food is average,
professional polished staff - waiters seemed older than those on NCL and a
bit older than HAL, expert wine steward and cigar connoisseur, very
knowledgeable and affable maitre d, very humorous and involving cruise
director who is not pushy, and all sorts of little extras that made my wife
and my experience surprisingly personalized. Many guests and host came
about at several times during our cruise inquiring on how we were being
treated and what they could do for us to make us even more comfortable.
Staff, without exception, were extremely polite and gracious on this
particular Celebrity ship at this particular time. Greek officers are there
to really make sure the ship is efficiently and well ran so they tend not
to mingle with passengers. At times a quiet ship though an active early
evening ship with excellent night life in at least two different lounges of
the ship. Celebrity is great for those that pay attention to the manner in
which the waiters serve at the dinner table, those that care about how the
wine steward pours their drink and holds your glass of wine, the settings,
symmetry and placement of fine pastries on a cart and other such
presentation details which I feel is consistent with a premium product.
Some staff members are very humourous, like Constantine, a Jamaican
bartender, and at the end of the trip I saw many passengers hugging their
waiters and others that served them.
Ben Smith
MisterEd
for some recent reviews, including our cruise on Galaxy May 28-June 4,
Inside Passage
MisterEd <-------- likes snow, at a distance.
George Wampler <Flo...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:11330-37...@newsd-102.iap.bryant.webtv.net...
kayss...@webtv.net
it very much.
My thoughts are more on what you intend to do. The first time we did the
land tour/cruise and
since we picked up the ship half way down we didn't get our choice of
seating.
The second time we only did the cruise from Anchorage/Seward to
Vancouver. If I was to do it again I would go from Vancouver to Glacier
Bay and back to Vancouver. Same amount of days and eliminates the long
day flying and busing to Seward. The scenery is mostly from Glacier Bay
to Vancouver.
Hope this helps some.
Earl
PARNAMI
>which the waiters serve at the dinner table, those that care about how the
>wine steward pours their drink and holds your glass of wine, the settings,
>symmetry and placement of fine pastries on a cart and other such
>presentation details which I feel is consistent with a premium product.
That would be me, and I agree that it's a sign of a premium product. BUT,
that's as far as our agreement goes. On MY cruise on Celebrity, waiters
continously REACHED across one diner, to access the place setting of the next.
We were continuously jostled in out seats by passing waiters.
On open seating meals, with differing waiters, service, usually, remained as
bad!
You may have had excellent, professional service on board Galaxy. It is NOT,
however, representative of Celebrity in general!
This happens to be one of the reasons I'm so hot against Celebrity! Simply,
they are not what they claim to be!
Cruising is like being awake, and dreaming!
Cam
ship.Can only say amen to Benjamin's comments re. Galaxy cleanliness and high
level of service.Only sore points were the heavy vibration sometimes felt in
our demi-suite at rear of the ship ( won't sail there again on any ship ) and
the extremely firm mattress on the bed. Happy Cruisin'...cam
Benjamin Smith wrote:
> the ship. Celebrity is great for those that pay attention to the manner in
> which the waiters serve at the dinner table, those that care about how the
> wine steward pours their drink and holds your glass of wine, the settings,
> symmetry and placement of fine pastries on a cart and other such
> presentation details which I feel is consistent with a premium product.
Ray Goldenberg
>You may have had excellent, professional service on board Galaxy. It is NOT,
>however, representative of Celebrity in general!
Hi Mel,
I have had the excellent professional service that was described by
Ben on11 Celebrity cruises in the past 6 years. I have clients on at
least one of their ships every week. I seldom get any complaints
about the service. On how many Celebrity cruises do you base your
opinion? Not to say your constant bashing of Celebrity is wrong, but
I would like to know your frame of reference.
Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com
PARNAMI
>opinion? Not to say your constant bashing of Celebrity is wrong, but
>I would like to know your frame of reference.
ONE! I learn from my mistakes and never repeat them. The simple fact that
bad service existed in the quantity displayed on my cruise is more than ample
evidence of the fact that Celebrity IS accepting of it! My letter to the
President of Celebrity, was acknowledged, not with a letter of regret for the
poor service; rather, with a statement of expectation that he didn't expect me
to return. In other words, in his view, I received an experience
representative of what was intended. Obviously, I didn't enjoy it, and, in his
educated opinion, there was no reason for me to return.
Remember, the sole reason for my cruise on Celebrity was to experience levels
of service above that enjoyed on Princess and Royal Caribbean. With all the
improper presentation and removal of platters, (along with volume of other
incidents of poor service occurring over the course of that week) what I
received was service that couldn't even reach the level of that provided on
Carnival, and I've never again booked with them either. Although I continue to
hear kudos about service from their fans as well!
When the President of a company, personally, acknowledges the quality of cruise
experience that I gained from Celebrity as being typical, that's good enough
for me. I certainly don't need a repeat performarance of that disaster!
I have no doubt of there being competent, professional, staff on board ships
of Celebrity. But, personal experience demonstrates they are not the rule, any
more so than on ships of any other cruise line. NOBODY should ever book with
Celebrity, expecting levels of food and service above that provided on ANY
other mass market line. Like me, they are apt to be gravely disappointed!
Benjamin Smith
>NOBODY should ever book with
>Celebrity, expecting levels of food and service above that provided on ANY
>other mass market line.
First of all, I don't feel that Celebrity felt like a mass market product,
neither did my tablemates who were experiencing the line for the first time
as I was. I along with many others feel they DO provide especially levels
of food and service above and beyond for MOST who have experienced their
cruises. I found it higher than the level experienced on HAL's Veendam.
Celebrity's negative comment ratio, and I asked this from people who have
worked aboard other lines and know these stats and nature of feedback to
the line, is no higher and actually a bit lower than the other lines.
I think it is a very tenuous position you take having only one cruise and
basing the standards of a line on that cruise. I'm truly sorry that you did
not see Celebrity at standards that many have experienced. I've heard from
many who have sailed the Century and they were extremely satisfied, while
some others were underwhelmed. I've said plenty of times that one cruise
experience is not definitive, good or bad, that's why I get as many
opinions as possible and sometimes try to represent them. Celebrity
overwhemlingly is considered a notch to several notches above RCI,
Carnival, and NCL by scores of people I've communicated with and comparable
to Princess and HAL. I don't group Princess, HAL and Celebrity with RCI or
NCL. And I think from their marketing angles, that those lines feel that
Princess, HAL and Celebrity are the more premium, though still moderately
priced lines.
I can understand someone going on a line and saying something like ' nope,
this line is not for me' or even as quite a few others on this forum has
said 'I don't see it as more premium as other lines'. But to go on it once,
talk about some letter from the CEO and not from someone in charge of
Quality or Passenger Satisfaction who works in these matters daily, is not
very convincing. Sorry, Mel.
I think you do a fine job in your reviews and pictorials, I truly
appreciate your hard work. You are polite to correspond with but for some
reason you have copped an attitude towards Celebrity which negatively
influences you seeing practically anything positive in the line.
Ben Smith
Ray Goldenberg
>ONE!
Hi Mel,
Thanks for clarifying your experience level with Celebrity. We can
now put your continued Celebrity criticism in perspective.
>NOBODY should ever book with
>Celebrity, expecting levels of food and service above that provided on ANY
>other mass market line. Like me, they are apt to be gravely disappointed!
Royal Caribbean management must disagree with you as they bought
Celebrity so they would have a premium brand to offer along with their
mass-market brand, Royal Caribbean.
I, and others who have far more experience on the Celebrity, disagree
with you, but that is why they have different cruise lines. Besides, I
don't think Celebrity has the capacity if everyone considered them the
best and could afford to cruise with them. <;+)
Sue Whitfield
Celebrity is known for their service and food,and if you would survey
people taking Celebrity and another Brand I am certain that Celebrity will
come out on top with food and service. No brand has came close to the food
that I have had on Celebrity. You are way off base with saying that the
service is the level of ALL other mass market cruiselines, just not true.
You just had a bad cruise, if there is such a thing! Unfortunately if the
crew is nearing the end of their contract sometimes there is a little
slacking, not that that is correct it just sometimes happens. But that is
why there are different cruise lines out there, many different people want
different things from a cruise, I for one liked Princess but felt that it
was more on the dull side, maybe when I am a old lady I will want that Dull
side again, as we age our interests change, maybe one day you will try
another celebrity ship.
disaster!
>
> I have no doubt of there being competent, professional, staff on board
ships
> of Celebrity. But, personal experience demonstrates they are not the
rule, any
> more so than on ships of any other cruise line. NOBODY should ever book
with
> Celebrity, expecting levels of food and service above that provided on ANY
> other mass market line. Like me, they are apt to be gravely disappointed!
>
>
>
Benjamin Smith
wrote:
>I for one liked Princess but felt that it
>was more on the dull side, maybe when I am a old lady I will want that
Dull
>side again,
Sue!!
Well, bring some polish and lots of light and lets brighten them up :)
btw I saw folks getting out of the Sun Princess at Ketchikan. Younger group
than you experienced on the Grand. Sometimes cruises out of Florida carry
some of the retired, l-i-e-s-u-r-l-y folks.
Ben
SPotter614
Bob, who had just come back from a cruise to Alaska. Bob had a TERRIBLE time -
weather was awful, hated the trip, etc., etc. Later that same day, Tom talked
to his friend Bill. Bill had also just come back from a cruise to Alaska, and
couldn't stop raving about how wonderful it was. During this conversation, Tom
thought he heard the cruise was the same ship as the one his friend Bob had
been on. They discovered that not only had Bob and Bill been on the same
cruise, they sat at the same table, same dinner sitting. The moral of the
story: An awful lot about how someone feels about their cruise has to do with
the individual, and not the cruise line or ship. This is a true story, I've
changed the names to a) make it a simpler story to tell, and b) so no one can
sue me. Obviously, the ship, cruise line, etc. are largely irrelevant.
Susan
Alice & Howard Rosenthal
Bay - Vancouver route, and would recommend it highly. (We also recommend
allowing time, if possible, to see Vancouver itself before or after the
cruise; we've been there twice and consider it one of our favorite cities
in all of North America.)
Howard Rosenthal
PARNAMI
>this line is not for me
But, the problem is, according to the description of the line, it IS for me!
It's the actual execution that isn't!
I've been on enough cruises to be able to tell when problems with a ship are
unique to that vessel, that cruise, or the line, as a whole. On Celebrlty,
it's often the ACTUAL policy that is the problem, thus, problem is with the
line, not my individual cruise. Since the RCCL acquisition, I am watching for
any changes which could prove to be tempting in calling me back. The new
vessel is interesting! We'll just have to see if RCCL overrides Celebrity when
it comes to its operation. If so, I may return!
I have to differ with you about the importance of the response I received from
the President of the Line. I can think no better source for comformation of
the design of the line! He confirmed my suspicions, which is more than good
enough for me to save my money in the future. I should point out, I pay for my
cruises, without benefit of TA or Journalist discounts. Being my own money, I
decide where it will be best spent. It's not on Celebrity! Spent it once,
wasted it, won't happen again, not without SUBSTANTIAL amounts of change,
anyway.!
I AM glad you found a home though. I'm still looking!
PARNAMI
>reason you have copped an attitude towards Celebrity which negatively
>influences you seeing practically anything positive in the line.
I should point out, I used up my share of positive comments about Celebrity,
BEFORE I actually cruised with them! Out of ignorance, I did actually think
highly of them.
I, now, have to correct my error, and make up for lost time!
PARNAMI
>Celebrity so they would have a premium brand to offer along with their
>mass-market brand, Royal Caribbean.
Managment at Royal Caribbean and I are in complete agreement on the subject of
Celebrity. They needed extra seats, Celebrity was about to fold or be absorbed
by a competitor, so it was a logical decision. I believe it will be RCCL's
decision to make a concentrated effort to make Celebrity, truly, a PREMIUM mass
market line. (any line sailing ships carrying in excess of 1500 passengers
each, with total berths exceeding 8,000 can be nothing other than mass market!)
Let's see what the future holds for Celebrity style as the new ships, the RCCL
designed ships, begin to come on line! AND, what happens to the older ones,
and, to whom, they will be marketed.
Ray Goldenberg
>Managment at Royal Caribbean and I are in complete agreement on the subject of
>Celebrity.
Hi Mel,
I am glad to see you now agree. I guess we are all in agreement that
Royal Caribbean wanted a premium cruise product and went out and
bought Celebrity. You are correct that Carnival did indeed want to
purchase Celebrity. Royal Caribbean won that battle to buy the
premium brand, Celebrity. BTW, you mentioned that Celebrity's
officers should be replaced for violating company policy. I am still
curious as to what company policy they have been violating?
PARNAMI
>officers should be replaced for violating company policy. I am still
>curious as to what company policy they have been violating?
>
no..someone stated that Celebrity's officers don't want the liquor policy
rewritten to conform to those of RCI, and that they want to do things their
way.....or something along those lines. As I recall, I responded that if they
don't want to adhere to company policy, they can be replaced!
I'm not sure this is truly the reason for the "low class" written liquor policy
they now have in force.
Regarding Celebrity being Premium class, they certainly won't be with the
current liquor policy. They aren't now anyway, but, with the new ships, the
potential is there! I AM sure that is the goal!
SPotter614
these lines or with cruising to know what it might be. Thanks
Susan
Benjamin Smith
>no..someone stated that Celebrity's officers don't want the liquor policy
>rewritten to conform to those of RCI, and that they want to do things
their
>way.....or something along those lines. As I recall, I responded that if
they
>don't want to adhere to company policy, they can be replaced!
>
>I'm not sure this is truly the reason for the "low class" written liquor
>policy
>they now have in force.
>
>Regarding Celebrity being Premium class, they certainly won't be with the
>current liquor policy. They aren't now anyway, but, with the new ships,
the
>potential is there! I AM sure that is the goal!
Overheard on HAL's Veendam someone said "well Carnival does this", the
response from the front office rep "We are Holland America, not Carnival"
Ben
Benjamin Smith
>I AM glad you found a home though. I'm still looking!
Celebrity may be *one* of my homes. But on the Galaxy, I did not feel the
same thing on Mercury. The rest of the Celebrity line is fine with me.
Princess may be for me also though I like the chic style of Regal/Crown
compared to the scaled hotel style of the Sun class and Grand Princess. I
like what I've seen so far regarding presentation which I feel is an
important factor for judging how premium a line is.
It's obvious that RCI is very much to your liking. And that's fine. But RCI
and Celebrity are two different types of lines, different flavors,
different emphasis and most people who are fans of one or both of these
lines wish for them to remain so. You seem to want to transform Celebrity
into RCI. This would NOT be a good thing.
You refer to the Millennium as RCI designed. It's basically the Vantage
class hull that Celebrity's exterior ship designer Bannenburg was forced to
design around which I think is a terrible thing. It should be ground up a
Celebrity ship. Interior fabrics are done in large part by Bergdorf
Goodman, a *very* upscale New York City 5th Avenue store. Those I talked to
on the Galaxy say that the Mellinnium is very much in the Celebrity style
and will be the "Century" of the Millennium clas. Some of the layout has to
conform to the RCI Vantage class but I have the deck plans and as Tim
wrote, most of it is a jumboized Century class ship. The idea I think RCI
has to expand the small Celebrity fleet and both Celebrity and RCI
management should collaborate on how Celebrity should procede in its own
style, not that of RCI's fleet which are substantially different than
Celebrity's fleet.
Ben Smith
Benjamin Smith
>any line sailing ships carrying in excess of 1500 passengers
>each, with total berths exceeding 8,000 can be nothing other than mass
>market!)
>
The issue is not volume. Who cares how many people are served? It is crew
and service staff to passenger ratio. That gives an indication of how much
"attention" crew can give to passengers.
Ben Smith
hmb...@my-deja.com
Flo...@webtv.net (George Wampler) wrote:
> We are going on our first cruise in September. We would like to hear
> from anyone who would be able to furnish us with information on their
> experiences on Celebrity cruise lines.
>
I can't say other than an experiace I had with conversation with a passanger
on Galaxy on the evening of 4th, July in Juneau. Freita, a women who works in
the banking industry in Frankfort, Germany...I speak enough Deutsch; that I
speak german - her english was well enough that we had a conversation on that
a simple place, which is to say; the cruiseship dock, and the Red Dog Bar, in
Juneau, Alaska. I am given to understaned that other cruiseship docks (like
the ones in Vancourver, B.C.) are so involved with secuirity, that perhaps
the cruiseship docks in Alaska are not relevent to R.T.C., and are indeed
unique in the world (no barbed wire fences in Alaska at all). An Alaska
cruise destination was little in common with other places cruiseships go.
The reason many people from foreign countries don't consider Alaska as part
of the United States is because cruiseship ports in Alaska are completely
unlike any ports in the States, Canada, Caribbean, or Mexico.
I was fasinated with what Freita, the banker from Frankfort had to say. It
turns out cruiseship shore trips work real well in Alaska, from the
prespective of a european.
I think most things I've said about how awuful the cruiseline shore trips are
is based on my opinions, and have little to do with the reality of what they
are - from the point of view of an outsider (as all tourists are) it turns
out cruiseship shore trips are FAR more statisfying than my ability to
understand.
So, have a good time on Galaxy, because many people do!
Hans - In Juneau, where July is (seems to be) paradise to cruiseship tourists!
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Charles
Benjamin Smith <be...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:B3A5C8E...@209.109.225.87...
> The issue is not volume. Who cares how many people are served? It is crew
> and service staff to passenger ratio. That gives an indication of how much
> "attention" crew can give to passengers.
I received more attention on Royal Caribbean than Celebrity. I could not
discern anything about Celebrity or Princess that makes them premium over
RCI. Mass market is mass market. The fares are comparable too. This should
tell you something. That does not mean that there are not differences among
the lines that fit into different peoples personal preferences. I think some
people want something premium and this marketing makes them feel they are
getting something premium. It fits into their psychological need that they
are special and deserve something better than what everyone else is getting.
I don't think there are any real differences among the mass market lines.
RCI, Princess, Hal, Celebrity, Carnival and NCL offer a comparable
experience, with some differences in style that may appeal to different
tastes. My experience is not that Celebrity is bad, it is just nothing
special.
Benjamin Smith
What
PARNAMI
>special.
>
You've taken the words right out of my mouth. I booked Celebrity expecting
"special", received "mediocre", on a poorly planned vessel to boot. Service
was perfunctory, no better. (Only on the final evening was my iced tea waiting
for me! 21 meals in the dining room and only the last of them did they learn.
I wonder why??!!). From my observation, they either count differently than
other lines or, because of the type of people they hire, need more of them, but
there is no discernable advantage on Celebrity with their, "proclaimed": 2:1
passenger crew ratio, over RCI's 3:1 ratio. In fact, on even the worst of my
RCI cruises, I've received better service than on Celebrity! (I define good
service, not only as receiving the food that is ordered, but as having the
waiters remember the little things, anticipating passenger requests, BEFORE
actually being asked! On Century, there was none of that! In fact, we even
had problems receiving the food that we actually ordered, AS it was ordered!
Give it time though! RCCL WILL fix the problem! Cruising Celebrity will be a
very special experience. Someday!!
Benjamin Smith
judgment that you have using different, I feel, established criteria for
rating or judging the product. I feel your position that it is always about
marketing is a bit jaded. Westin hotel was also premium and Galaxy matched
it in almost every way or exceeded it.
There are plenty upscale, not exclusive or boutique, entities that serve a
huge amount of people.
We've gone over this ground before so I like to turn it and ask what
service oriented entity (hotel, whatever) have you experienced that you
consider premium and why?
Ben
PARNAMI
>compared to the scaled hotel style of the Sun class and Grand Princess
Ahh... we have fundemental differences in taste when it comes to ship design.
I find Regal/Crown/Star Princess to suffer from many of the same design flaws
as do the Century Class vessels: promenades that go nowhere, poor passenger
flow, disjointed design, etc. To me, they are severly lacking when it comes to
style. Of the ships on which I've sailed, Star Princess and Century, without
question, are my least favorite..
Yes, I am a fan of RCI, but I also find fault with them. I also enjoy
Princess, but am not comfortable with the way their Italian run ships are
operated, and try to avoid them as a result. For me, the perfect cruise would
be a paring of RCI style, with the cruise description made by Celebrity. It's
just a shame that falls so flat in it's actual executioin. I think that is
about to change!
PARNAMI
>response from the front office rep "We are Holland America, not Carnival"
That's true, but it's the PREMIUM cruise line, HAL that has the lenient liquor
pollicy, not the PARTY line. Can you imagine the uproar if Carnival allowed
passenger's personal liquor, but HAL enforced the restrictions!! THAT is the
problem with Celebrity's. They make the proclaimation of being "higher class",
but institute a liquor policy that is in line with that of Carnival, rather
than with HAL, or Royal Caribbean, even. It's backward, and out of line. IT
MUST BE CHANGED!
I wonder how passengers cruising Crystal would react to being told they were
not permitted their personal liquor on board??
Or even, Holland America passengers, if they were to be told that they must now
adhere to Carnival's petty restrictions?
I have no problem with Celebrity operating differently than does RCI. BUT, the
differences must make sense. It would be wrong for RCI to provide bathrobes
and not Celebrity. It would be wrong for RCI to provide daily formal teas and
not Celebrity. It IS wrong for RCI to permit personal liquor and not
Celebrity!
Incidentally, for those not aware of the differences: Celebrity's WRITTEN
policy in regard to personal alcohal is an outright restriction, identical to
that of Carnival. Although some crew members on Celebrity, AND on Carnival,
most even, will look the other way, and permit it on board, others may not!
The fact that a passenger carries personal liquor on board a Celebrity vessel
puts him in clear violation of the cruise contract, and, at the whim of
managment, subjects him to penalties.
Royal Caribbean, on the other hand, permits personal alcohal, with Royal
Caribbean RESERVING the option to restrict it. There's a big difference!
(According to Jack Williams, "RCI has no problem with personal alcohol, in most
ports")!
PARNAMI
>service oriented entity (hotel, whatever) have you experienced that you
>consider premium and why?
I think the problems lie in terminology. I believe Celebrity chooses to
operate in the "premium" market. I also believe, as does RCI, that RCI
operates in the "Contemporary" and the "Premium" markets. They both are "mass
Market" Cruise lines!
"Mass Market" has EVERYTHING to do with numbers!
Benjamin Smith
>For me, the perfect cruise would
>be a paring of RCI style, with the cruise description made by Celebrity
I don't see why you care so much about a line you loathe. Enjoy RCI's new
ships as they evolve. While some are worried about RCI cheapening the
Celebrity product you seem to think that they'll be Celebrity's savior.
Many of us feel Celebrity does not need a savior, is one of the finer
lines, and are happy with them continuing on as they are and adding further
refinements to their cruise experience and ships, as it should be for all
cruise lines.
Ben (looking to have a wonderful time Aug 28th on the Century)
Benjamin Smith
>>compared to the scaled hotel style of the Sun class and Grand Princess
>
>Ahh... we have fundemental differences in taste when it comes to ship
>design.
>I find Regal/Crown/Star Princess to suffer from many of the same design
>flaws
>as do the Century Class vessels:
I'm not talking about ship design at all, I'm talking about environment. I
can live with some design flaws if the ship has a certain environment and
hopefully atmosphere. The Regal/Crown have character to me and have
nostalgic tones. The newer ships have a scaled modern hotel feel to them. I
felt that immediately when I toured the Grand.
There are only 3 design problems I found with the Galaxy. The first one is
that the rear foyer is situated aft on two levels and is designed to be a
quiet area. Above this is the tail end of the noisy casino. This is going
to be fixed according to the cruise director as the tail end of the casino
will be replaced with an art gallery. The 2nd is that I had to walk through
the library to get to the foyer, thus disturbing those in the library. This
was fixed with the Mercury although the Mercury's library is bland. The 3rd
is a lack of a wrap around promenade. The photo gallery is done extremely
well in the Rendezvous lounge. It is off to the side and allows people to
walk through without too much crowding. Much better than what's done in the
Veendam. Mel, all ships have design flaws. You keep railing against the
Century, which was the first large ship of Celebrity but she is a truly
expensively furnished ship which many report gives an air and environment
of a classic liner. That's whats important to me. If they sweat the details
in making an evironment, which they did on the Galaxy and boy did they
spend a lot of money on the ship's furnishings. The tables in the Interlude
bar have wrought iron bases. If it were another ship it might be metal
alloy or polymers. The fact that the design flaws, for the most part, were
fixed with Galaxy and Mercury shows that Celebrity was interested in
identifying and fixing the problem.
Ben
Charles
> Ben (looking to have a wonderful time Aug 28th on the Century)
This is the important thing. Have a wonderful time. Don't worry about which
cruise line your on, it does not matter that much.
Dean Worrell
I was recently on the Galaxy. I posted a report here on RTC a week or
so ago. It may still be on your server or on dejanews.com. If you can't
find it email me and I will be happy to email a copy back to you.
I expect that you will enjoy Alaska. I sure did.
Regards,
Dean
Steve M.
If RCCL is the parent company of Celebrity, then how can anyone point the
finger at Celebrity for any problems they might have with their policy?
I don't know when RCCL purchased Celebrity but it must have been some time
ago in order for Celebrity's newest ship to show RCCL influence.
If that's the case, when it comes to direction and policy, RCCL must be
calling the shots.
Steve M.
Benjamin Smith <be...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:B3A667B...@209.109.227.97...
> On Mon, Jul 5, 1999 10:35 AM, PARNAMI <mailto:par...@aol.com> wrote:
> >For me, the perfect cruise would
> >be a paring of RCI style, with the cruise description made by Celebrity
>
> I don't see why you care so much about a line you loathe. Enjoy RCI's new
> ships as they evolve. While some are worried about RCI cheapening the
> Celebrity product you seem to think that they'll be Celebrity's savior.
> Many of us feel Celebrity does not need a savior, is one of the finer
> lines, and are happy with them continuing on as they are and adding
further
> refinements to their cruise experience and ships, as it should be for all
> cruise lines.
>
PARNAMI
>finger at Celebrity for any problems they might have with their policy?
>I don't know when RCCL purchased Celebrity but it must have been some time
>ago in order for Celebrity's newest ship to show RCCL influence.
RCCL has been adding their influence, gradually. The purchase occured about
two years ago. It appears, until the additional capacity comes on line, few
substantive changes will be made.
In the interim, Celebrity managment has the opportunity to run the cruise line,
without the money woes that plagued it before. I would suspect their degree of
success will determine the amount and extent of influence coming down from RCCL
managment in the near future.
Over the next three years, my money is on a complete revamping of what's left
of Celebrity managment. I then predict, RCCL will promote the Celebrity line
as the upscale alternative to RCI, with ALL the premium features of RCI, added
to those of Celebrity, to create a truly luxurious cruise experience.
This move will allow RCCL to end the juggling of features on it's primary line,
trying to be all things to all people. They pull it off pretty well, but can't
be considered truly premium, or truly Contemporary.
But, in the process of switching current RCI passengers seeking a more premium
experience, over to Celebrity, they have to be careful to include ALL the
premium features to which those passengers are already accustomed. AND, by the
same token, eliminate some of the petty features currently on Celebrity. RCI
passengers expect not to pay for soft drinks during meals. The expect to be
able to purchase liquor on board or ashore, for use in their cabins. They
don't expect to have to empty a refrigerator of "for sale" liquor or sodas, in
order to make room! RCI passengers expect to have access to well stocked
librarys, and a well decorated, quiet, comfortable setting in which to read
them. All features current Celebrity ships lack!
I also anticipate improvements on Celebrity ships and in their operation. I
doubt RCCL will continue to hold "Captain's Welcome Aboard Parties" in rooms
only able to accomodate 20% of the passengers. I serioiusly doubt, under RCCL
influence, that Celebrity will arrange team trivia, and similiar events, to be
held in Michael's Club, the Smoking Room! (yep.....they really did do that on
my cruise!) I doubt RCCL will permit Celebrity Captain's to depart port while
passengers are held at "safety stations". (YEP, did that too!). If we're to
talk quality, it WILL exist in fact, not only in fantasy.
Overall, Celebrity will be a better line because of RCCL.
Now, for the hard core Celebrity fan, the bad news. It's also only a guess,
but I don't see much of a future for Apollo Catering on Celebrity ships. RCCL
has had great financial success by reducing the need for outside, on board
vendors. I expect the same cost efficiencies to take place on Celebrity. This
may, or may not, impact Celebrity food. Since facilities are owned by
Celebrity, and not by Apollo, and since I foresee no break with the successful
Roux/Celebrity association, I don't see signifcant changes in quality of food.
I do think "PREMIUM" shoud mean greater flexibility in perparing food according
to specific passenger tastes.
Okay...enough for now.. BUT, a question: Is any of this, really, a bad
thing?
PARNAMI
>ships as they evolve.
I care because features I loathe about Celebrity, are finding their way on to
ships of other lines (not just RCI either). I want them to know that not
everyone is as tolerant or accepting of them as are Celebrity fans.
Additionally,as you point out, RCI is evolving. What I enjoy on them today,
likely, will be Celebrity tomorrow. I'm just trying to help shape the outcome!
Steve M.
I had no idea it took that long for corporate change.
I have experienced 3 corporate by-outs in the past 24 months. Working for
small networking startups, it's expected. Management changes must happen a
lot faster in the Computer industry because in every case, changes where on
line after weeks! Perhaps it's just different with the cruising industry.
Still, it's hard to imagine a parent company not introducing change,
especially if it is effecting passenger count or, more importantly, the
bottom line. Maybe they just want to wait until the have everything in
place. Seems strange though to wait over 2 years though.
Steve M.
PARNAMI <par...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19990706013919...@ng-cf1.aol.com...
Ray Goldenberg
<steven....@mciworld.com> wrote:
>I had no idea it took that long for corporate change.
Hi Steve,
Give me a break. <g> I think that most of those policies Mel suggested
could have taken place by now if RCI had truly wanted them to take
place. How long does it take to make the changes Mel suggested if RCI
had wished, charge for soft drinks at dinner, location of past pax
parties, liquor policy, etc? After all, within months of the merger,
the reservations staff, sales (outside & inside) staff, group
department, etc were all merged into one. Most if not all of the
Celebrity offices were moved into RCI's locations. The catering is a
contract that is still ongoing from pre-merger Celebrity and very well
not be renewed at the end of it's life. I do agree that most of
Celebrity's management will be purged. Many have already left the
company and most of the rest will soon follow.
Benjamin Smith
> I serioiusly doubt, under RCCL
>influence, that Celebrity will arrange team trivia, and similiar events,
to
>be
>held in Michael's Club, the Smoking Room! (yep.....they really did do
that on
>my cruise!)
Do you see a problem here? Ask people who have been on the Galaxy where the
team trivia events were held. It was in the Rendezvous lounge, not
Michael's club. Nothing was held in Michael's club on my cruise. Did you go
around asking people on a different Celebrity cruise on the Century, Galaxy
and Mercury if they had trivia events in Michael's Club. Why in the world
do you think they would continue something like this? That's a big mistake
on Celebrity's part btw, but Celebrity is interested in feedback as
evidenced to the improvements in design as you go from ship to ship. For an
example, when you get off of the elevators on the Galaxy you have to turn
around to see what floor you are on, if the digital display above is not
working. On the Mercury they have placed the floor's number on the
landing's base, which is easy to see and another point of reference.
My feeling is that you got the Century when she was only a few months in
operation, Celebrity's new big ship. Celebrity had no experience operating
a 70,000 ton ship up to this point. I think that the crew aboard just did
not click at this point. And this is a warning I have to people. It's fun
to get on a new ship but sometimes it is better to wait a year or so until
the crew can click, until some nonsensical things such as trivia in a
smoking lounge can be correctly moved to a more appropriate lounge. Do you
want to hear about a new ship that was truly underwhelming and had serious
problems in its first few months of operation? The Holland America
Rotterdam VI. A comparable ship to the Century and in this case HAL had
experience operating ships of this size, although technically the Rot VI is
a bit larger.
As for the library, Galaxy's is classy, Mercury's is bland. As I say before
these ships differ alot from ship to ship. I toured the Mercury and
camcorded her. She is a different world than the Galaxy, MUCH different.
Let's compare Princess to Celebrity in terms of design. The Grand Princess
has these balconies that afford little privacy on its lower two decks.
Because Princess makes new ships that are exactly the same, how can they
make any improvements to design?
All this talk of RCI making Celebrity something really special seems quite
funny to me as I just got off of the Galaxy and saw people hugging their
waiters, my tablemates, veteran cruisers who have been aboard Cunard as
well as RCI saying that Celebrity was one of the most service oriented
lines they've experienced, and so many interactive activities between
entertainers and pax. As I said it is a ship of subtleties, do not expect
on any of these premium lines to be knocked over the head. Notice the
subtleties and you'll see why these lines are as highly rated as they are.
Ben S.
Steve M.
Exactly, and that's the point I was trying to convey.
Why would RCCL take over 2 years to make changes? Especially if Celebrity
was so bad?? It doesn't make sense. RCCL, one of the MAJOR leaders in the
cruise industry with lots of inovations, goes out and spends lots of dough
on Celebrity and waits 2 years to make changes?? No way! I'm an not a high
powered business man by any means but even I know it doesn't happen that
way. They would have made new company policy almost immediatly. Before a
company even makes an offer for another company, they know exactly what
they want to do with the new company and what the company's policy is going
to be.
Mel,
In my humble opinion, any major changes that RCCL felt should have become
policy would have taken place already. Especially if that product had any
weeknesses.
It seems pretty obvious that RCCL feels Celebrity has a pretty good idea of
how to run a cruiseline and has carved out a pretty nice niche for
themselves. The only thing RCCL apparently thinks Celebrity needs to become
successfull is money. If not, you would have seen these changes you talk
about already.
Steve M.
Ray Goldenberg <r...@lighthousetravel.com> wrote in message
news:37820bcf...@news.newsguy.com...
JCrui0922
>Bob, who had just come back from a cruise to Alaska. Bob had a TERRIBLE time
>-
>weather was awful, hated the trip, etc., etc. Later that same day, Tom
>talked
>to his friend Bill. Bill had also just come back from a cruise to Alaska,
>and
>couldn't stop raving about how wonderful it was. During this conversation,
>Tom
>thought he heard the cruise was the same ship as the one his friend Bob had
>been on. They discovered that not only had Bob and Bill been on the same
>cruise, they sat at the same table, same dinner sitting. The moral of the
>story: An awful lot about how someone feels about their cruise has to do
>with
>the individual, and not the cruise line or ship. This is a true story, I've
>changed the names to a) make it a simpler story to tell, and b) so no one can
>sue me. Obviously, the ship, cruise line, etc. are largely irrelevant.
>
Susan - You are so right! I teach a lot of First Time Cruisers seminars, and I
always get asked what the best cruise is? My pat answer is that what I like is
not necessarily what our clients like. It takes a lot of effort on the part of
travel agents to put their personal feelings aside, and listen to what their
clients are telling them that they expect from their cruise vacation. My
favorite questions to ask in order to match our clients up with the cruise
experience that is best for them are: 1) What restaurant they go to for a
night out celebrating an anniversary or birthday? 2) What type of hotels do
they stay in while on vacation - not on business? 3) Where do they prefer to
shop - boutiques, shopping malls, etc? By answering these 3 questions, we can
pretty much assess their expectations and put them on a cruise that will be
within their comfort levels. It's all a matter of lifestyle - and the Platinum
Rule (do unto others as they would like to have done).
Sherrie in Nashville
villa deauville
Perhaps I would be considered old in years but Im certainly not
considered Dull. By no means.
Still do a mean Lindy (on cruises only)
Perhaps when you get old you wll endeavour not to beome Dull.
By the way we sailed on
the Mercury in April and will be returning to her in Ocober.
We found the ship, crew and staff outstanding including food, service
etc.
SUNNY
.
villa deauville
Have cruised 3 times with Royal Caribbean hoping each ime it might
improve. It didnt:Last Ocober we cruised Legend of he Sea o Hawaii.
Itwas bad. Each night they featured a different herb in which all the
food, didn matter what, all tasted alike.Mea, fish, vegetables... well I
hope you get the idea.
In the course of our stay on board we would see crew carrying
matresses.Many times and many mattresses.
We never enquired why assuming the mattresses were in eed of repair.
The "BEDS" we slept on were
mighty uncomforable.but not waning to complain we made the best of
it.(We were in ( Cat 2) .On the last dayIdropped something and bent
down o pick it up and saw we had been sleepng on fold awayCOTS.
The mattresses we had seen being cartedaround were extra mattresses to
put on top of the matresses that were already there.
I may be getting old but nevr DULL
SUNNY.
.
PARNAMI
>successfull is money. If not, you would have seen these changes you talk
>about already.
I don't thnk so. I would have been surprised it the HAD already been made.
Why change if the need does not yet exist? Once new vessels start making their
appearances, THEN is the time for change. In the meantime, they properly, have
maintained the status quo so as not to alienate their existing customers.
Until now, all substantive changes to the line have been made BEHIND the
scenes, out of view of the customer base. It's just about time to tackle the
rest. I will be surprised if they don't occur over the NEXT two years!
PARNAMI
>has these balconies that afford little privacy on its lower two decks.
>Because Princess makes new ships that are exactly the same, how can they
>make any improvements to design?
I hear Princess IS considering major changes in design for future Grand
vessels. Among them, possible elimination of the "Skywalkers" Lounge. The
relatively simple fix for the exposed balconys is to eliminate the set back and
extend them all out to the same plane. Final details should soon be released.
Let's see what's been done. In any event, the design of Grand is not fixed!
>I just got off of the Galaxy and saw people hugging their
>waiters, my tablemates, veteran cruisers who have been aboard Cunard as
>well as RCI saying that Celebrity was one of the most service oriented
>lines they've experienced,
I've almost never left a ship without noticing similar farewells. It's a ship
board tradition, one not unique to Celebrity.
PARNAMI
>operation,
Nope, I'm quite aware of problems of new ships. At the time of my crusie,
Century was 10 months old, well past any teething period. There were no
excuses for the number and types of problems I encountered. Sure, they are of
no vital importance. But, they do show the lack of attention to detail that
Celebfity managment places regarding the operation of it's ships.
Like you, I DO pay attention to small details. They are what differentiates
one line from another. We differ in that I spend little time on actual details
of decor. Rather, I FEEL the ship and am concerned with the layout and
operational facile. Unfortunately, in my experience with Celebrity, I did more
had head shaking than nodding. I went on board, expecting a beautiful, well
run, vessel, with among the best food and service I would ever experience. I
found nothing even close to these levels of expectation. This was a sad
experience. One I will never forget! NOR REPEAT!
Steve M.
Ok, I can go along with that IF the purchasing company feels that no MAJOR
changes are in order and the purchased company already has a policy that is
close to what they think the policy should be.
I can't see RCCL allowing glaring or major problems with Celebrity to exist
this long....even if it is the status quo. If it was you, would you allow a
company that you purchased to continue to do business if their where lots of
problems???
In any case, it should be interesting to see what unfolds. I just hope they
stict with Celebrity's concept. I don't want to see Celebrity go in the
direction of "Hotel" like cruises. More and more lines are moving away from
traditional cruising and becoming this "bargin all inclusive vacation" that
happens to float on the water.
Steve M.
PARNAMI <par...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19990706171349...@ng-cj1.aol.com...
> >The only thing RCCL apparently thinks Celebrity needs to become
> >successfull is money. If not, you would have seen these changes you talk
> >about already.
>
> I don't thnk so. I would have been surprised it the HAD already been
made.
> Why change if the need does not yet exist? Once new vessels start making
their
> appearances, THEN is the time for change. In the meantime, they properly,
have
> maintained the status quo so as not to alienate their existing customers.
>
> Until now, all substantive changes to the line have been made BEHIND the
> scenes, out of view of the customer base. It's just about time to tackle
the
> rest. I will be surprised if they don't occur over the NEXT two years!
>
>
>
Ray Goldenberg
>I don't thnk so. I would have been surprised it the HAD already been made.
>Why change if the need does not yet exist? Once new vessels start making their
>appearances, THEN is the time for change. In the meantime, they properly, have
>maintained the status quo so as not to alienate their existing customers.
Hi Mel,
Why would you have been surprised? Why wait for new vessels to make
these changes in policys. You had some excellent suggestions
regarding liquor policy, free softdrinks with dinner, etc. Why would
any passengers object? With all of the back end changes that Royal
Caribbean made to Celebrity, why would they have not made these very
simple but excellent changes?
Benjamin Smith
>Like you, I DO pay attention to small details. They are what
differentiates
>one line from another. We differ in that I spend little time on actual
>details
>of decor. Rather, I FEEL the ship and am concerned with the layout and
>operational facile. Unfortunately, in my experience with Celebrity, I did
>more
>had head shaking than nodding. I went on board, expecting a beautiful,
well
>run, vessel, with among the best food and service I would ever experience.
>I
>found nothing even close to these levels of expectation. This was a sad
>experience. One I will never forget! NOR REPEAT!
And it still is just one experience regardless of how knowlegable and
experienced cruiser you are.
Getting away from this discussion I'll just say that Century, even with the
design flaws, enjoys high ratings in the industry. I have to question why
anyone would want to make any substantive changes to Celebrity when they
continue to enjoy such high ratings and comments from Fieldings, Stern's,
Berlitz and the other cruise guides.
I still think it makes little sense for you to care that much about
Celebrity. You tried it, you abhored it. Move on. Obviously the execution
and the flavor of the product is not to your liking. Find another line to
enjoy rather than trying so hard to fix Celebrity, a line many feel does
not need fixing. I don't think must of us, as individuals, will affect
change with the Celebrity product. They look at things overall. And like it
or not, Celebrity is a highly rated premium product. I think Celebrity fans
would not respond well to changes that substantially change the product in
the new or current vessels.
Ben
Tom & Linda
1. Ships in the Caribbean in the summer. [I get my wish again next
summer with the Century, which we've already booked for the second time
next August.]
2. Short 3/4 night cruises, for when we can't get away for a whole
week, or when XMAS week doesn't work out for a whole week. [have to have
XMAS dinner with Grandma, so we have to work around that.]
3. Verandah cabins that can hold a family of 4. The larger family Cat.
3 cabins that hold 4 don't have verandahs.
But that's it. No other changes wanted!!!
--Tom
Tom & Linda
nice way to get you to try the product... If they can, why can't
Celebrity or Princess? Just a thought. Besides, once they get the new
millennium class ships, what are they going to do with all of them in
the winter? Seems like a good idea for the Zenith or Horizon to do
short cruises.
Not only is RCCL exerting minimal influence, they are going out of their
way to keep it different. Our Maitre 'd Lars on the Grandeur told us
that they were not allowed to cross over to the Celebrity ships,
particularly the entertainment staff. The Celebrity and RCCL staffs are
trained very differently and the company recognizes that each would not
fit well on the other line.
Another comment from a bartender on the Grandeur also offers some
insight. (I've mentioned this here before, some time back, so forgive
me for repeating.) I was wearing my Century shirt on the Grandeur and
the bartender in the solarium pool noticed it. He said he used to work
on the Century (pre merger), and asked which ship I liked better, to
which I replied that the Grandeur was a prettier ship, but the Century
was much better cared for. I asked him which ship he liked better. He
replied that on the Grandeur, if you do your job they leave you alone,
but on the Century whatever you did was never enough. They wanted you
to work much harder.
I found that interesting...
--Tom
PARNAMI wrote:
>
> >2. Short 3/4 night cruises, for when we can't get away for a whole
> >week, or when XMAS week doesn't work out for a whole week. [have to have
> >XMAS dinner with Grandma, so we have to work around that.]
>
> That's one change which I just can't envision. Cruises such as these,
> normally, are filled with novice, younger cruisers who are testing the waters.
> Afterward, they move on to longer cruises. This is the provice of RCI, and the
> reason they are know for being more active. The crowd also is more party
> oriented. The additional activity, accompanied with the party attitude is the
> reason for many of the complaints about worn and stained carpeting.
>
> This is not the subdued, premium product you envision! Doing what you describe
> would mean Celebrity could be otherwise known as Royal Caribbean 2!
>
> You do illustrate very clearly why, I suspect, over the past two years, RCCL
> has exerted very little influence over the Celebrity product. Change must be
> made with great care, lest it cause growth in unexpected directions.
Tom & Linda
summers ago, Celebrity doesn't really have ANY problems, EXCEPT for the
noticeable change to poorer quality RCCL food recently. The lettuce is
now not as fresh. Things such as that. And I'm sure that is due to
RCCL's pressure on costs.
On the Galaxy, we met the corporate head executive chef (Walter Lauer
sp? from Austria) at dinner one evening. I had my salad with wilted
lettuce in front of me, but "chickened out" showing it to him because
Linda doesn't like me making an issue, and I didn't want to ruin her
cruise by complaining (although I mentioned it on the comment card). I
even asked her later if I should have said something and she said "NO!"
I blame the poorer quality food on RCCL's impact... I could be wrong,
but I don't think so...
So far, RCCL is 0 for 1.
--Tom
PARNAMI wrote:
>
> >If it was you, would you allow a
> >company that you purchased to continue to do business if their where lots of
> >problems???
>
> At it's current level, I don't think Celebrity has MAJOR problems! Obviously,
> I don't like it, but that does not mean the product is bad! The number of
> regular cruisers, and the vehemence with which they voice their support, is
> proof of this. But, those passengers, increasingly, will account for less of
> thier volume, the bulk, shortly, being taken over by passengers just being
> introduced to the line. These are the passengers to which Celebrity must gear
> it's future product. Hopefully, with minimal loss of current fans.
>
> I hear Celebrity has a new advertising "manager" (the exact title escapes me),
> with a new ad campaign launching in the fall. This may be the strongest
> indication yet of the future direction.
>
> You're correct, it should be interesting and the future reveals itself. I love
> this industry!
PARNAMI
>would not respond well to changes that substantially change the product in
>the new or current vessels.
I think you're correct, thus, the kid gloves with which the line has been
handled. But, to survive, Celebrity must bring on fresh blood. That includes
dis-satisfied former passengers such as me. The changes I expect are minimal,
and just add to the experience, rather than detract from it. There must be a
smooth flow of passengers seeking an upgraded experience from that which they
are already familar on RCI. THe market exists! It's just a matter of properly
handling it.
Currently, I'm forced to bounce between Princess and RCI to get my "Cruise
Fix": I always miss that which is part of the line on which I'm not currently
sailing! I'd much rather have a premium RCI brand, which includes everything,
neatly wrapped in one package.
That is the reason I think RCI bought the line, and it's highest and best use!
PARNAMI
>week, or when XMAS week doesn't work out for a whole week. [have to have
>XMAS dinner with Grandma, so we have to work around that.]
That's one change which I just can't envision. Cruises such as these,
normally, are filled with novice, younger cruisers who are testing the waters.
Afterward, they move on to longer cruises. This is the provice of RCI, and the
reason they are know for being more active. The crowd also is more party
oriented. The additional activity, accompanied with the party attitude is the
reason for many of the complaints about worn and stained carpeting.
This is not the subdued, premium product you envision! Doing what you describe
would mean Celebrity could be otherwise known as Royal Caribbean 2!
You do illustrate very clearly why, I suspect, over the past two years, RCCL
has exerted very little influence over the Celebrity product. Change must be
made with great care, lest it cause growth in unexpected directions.
Cruising is like being awake, and dreaming!
PARNAMI
>company that you purchased to continue to do business if their where lots of
>problems???
At it's current level, I don't think Celebrity has MAJOR problems! Obviously,
I don't like it, but that does not mean the product is bad! The number of
regular cruisers, and the vehemence with which they voice their support, is
proof of this. But, those passengers, increasingly, will account for less of
thier volume, the bulk, shortly, being taken over by passengers just being
introduced to the line. These are the passengers to which Celebrity must gear
it's future product. Hopefully, with minimal loss of current fans.
I hear Celebrity has a new advertising "manager" (the exact title escapes me),
with a new ad campaign launching in the fall. This may be the strongest
indication yet of the future direction.
You're correct, it should be interesting and the future reveals itself. I love
this industry!
Cruising is like being awake, and dreaming!
Charles
Tom & Linda <TKAN...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:3782CC0E...@worldnet.att.net...
> From what we've seen on the Galaxy this past Easter, and the Century 2
> summers ago, Celebrity doesn't really have ANY problems, EXCEPT for the
> noticeable change to poorer quality RCCL food recently. The lettuce is
> now not as fresh. Things such as that. And I'm sure that is due to
> RCCL's pressure on costs.
As someone else said two different people can be on the same cruise and see
things differently. You see few problems. Others of us see more problems.
While I saw problems on Celebrity, those would not make me not book
Celebrity again. I saw nothing special or extraordinary that set Celebrity
apart. Maybe on another Celebrity ship at another time it will be different.
PARNAMI
>nice way to get you to try the product... If they can, why can't
>Celebrity or Princess? Just a thought
All lines do occasional short cruises when they fit their schedules, usually
between longer cruises. When I say Celebrity won't do them, I'm referring to
doing them in the fashion of Nordic Empress, Sovereign of the Seas, Fantasy,
and Ecstasy....constantly over a period of time.
If it's only the occasional short cruise you are seeking, with the expended
Celebrity itineraries, , I'm sure they will happen, as filler. But, you will
have to jump to get on the cruise, because the opportunites will be limited!