I’ve just received two very different
pleas for help about Celebrity cruises. One from a 60-something couple who've
cruised Celebrity often in the past, but are now worried that the line is too modern,
youthful, and they wouldn't feel welcome. Another from a younger couple wanting
to celebrate their joint 30th birthdays on Celebrity, worrying it will be too
stuffy, and that they wouldn't have fun. Before replying to these conflicting perspectives, I reflected on my first-hand experiences on my
recent Celebrity trips and here’s what I realised. Welcome aboard, I'm Gary Bembridge. First what is Celebrity up
to and doing well right now? Although what they’re doing risks driving
the traditional Celebrity cruisers away, like that first couple, they are pushing
the experience more up market. Making it more luxurious, and shifting out of the
cruise category they current operate in. They are in what’s known as the “premium”
category, along with cruise lines like Princess, P&O Cruises UK, Holland America, Cunard, and
new Virgin Voyages. Then above that there’s the luxury small ship category, which includes
lines like Viking, Oceania, Windstar, and Azamara. Previously, if I wanted a more luxurious
experience, I had to go on those small ship lines. But Celebrity is starting to push
away from the traditional premium cruise lines like Princess that they compete
with to be more like the luxury smaller ships experience. They're trying to be
less stuffy, contemporary, and modern. They're doing six things that
mean that they are achieving this. First, the ships are changing. And the most
dramatic example of that is with the Edge-class ships, which are very different in every
way to the others they have in the fleet. Second, across the fleet
they’ve introduced new décor, working with designers like Kelly Hoppen,
to make it plusher. And more contemporary. The third thing they're doing is pushing service.
I think of all their current premium line competition, Celebrity does have superior service.
And what's interesting, as I'll talk about later, is they've also done that at a time when
they have scrapped add-on gratuities. Fourth, they've elevated the food.
It’s more stylish. It's presented in a more artistic way and the
quality and range of items on the menu has been elevated to what
I usually expect on luxury lines. The fifth thing they've done to shift to the
more luxury side with more all-inclusive fares, which includes things like drinks package, Wi-Fi,
and gratuities. This meant their prices increased. Then they are making it more family friendly.
Now offering families an opportunity to have a more luxury cruise experience without
the cost of those smaller ship lines, by increasing the size of kids’ clubs
and the amount of kids’ club activities. Many of these changes could, I feel, be alienating
for that traditional Celebrity traveller couple but I think what they're doing well is
making the line look and feel more up-market. For both of those couples who asked my advice, I
also told them Celebrity have further upped the whole sense of luxury by focusing on the suite
experience. They’ve repackaged it, renamed it, and it's now called The Retreat. It's very much
drawing on the luxury ship-within-a-ship concepts, such as Norwegian Cruise Line’s The
Haven, and the Yacht Club on MSC. They now have some of the biggest and most
costly suites at sea. They're glitzier. They're very contemporary. There’s
the Iconic Suite, a massive space on the Edge-class above the bridge. They
have the Edge Villas on the Edge-class, two-level apartment style suites,
and then smaller suite options. I stayed in a Sky Suite on my last trip, which
is the entry level. It's not really a suite, to be honest, it's basically a
large cabin. On my previous cruise, I stayed in the Celebrity Suite, which did have
a separate bedroom, and so more a real suite. I got a butler and to dine in the Luminae
restaurant, which is outstanding. While, it doesn't have the depth of menu and the ability
to order off menu like in Cunard Queens Grill, the food is fantastic. It looks
amazing. The service was exceptional. I also got the Retreat Lounge with daily nibbles, afternoon tea, and concierges. There
was a beautiful deck with a bar, food, pool, and hot tubs. Also priority
boarding, tenders, and disembarkation. I think overall they have the best premium
overall suite offer of any of the premium lines, including Cunard because although Cunard’s
Queens Grill food beats them, the overall Retreat experience is better. So if that was important to
either couple then they should consider the line. This brings me to the next thing
that I think they're doing well, and that is they're evolving and
giving cruisers two clear options. Which is where both those concerned
travellers may find the answer! Celebrity has three classes of ship.
Millennium-class, which includes Celebrity Millennium with 2,218 guests. Then there are
Solstice-class ships like Celebrity Solstice which has 2,850 guests, then there’s the Edge-class
ship where Edge and Apex have 2,908 passengers, although the new Beyond and Ascent have
an extra deck and carry 3,260 guests. This now means there are two
very different approaches and sets of ships. The Millennium and
Solstice-class ships are classic, traditional cruise ships that look
and will feel very familiar to my traditional cruisers in terms of the exterior,
internal layout, and the venues and facilities. On these Celebrity still have a
traditional and classic cruise program, similar to the other premium lines,
but with a more contemporary twist, and the events tend to be more high energy,
trendy and run later into the night. Then there is a very different approach, which is Edge-class. This is very
different in almost every way. From the outside, it looks different.
There is the Magic Carpet down one side, which operates as a bar and restaurant, and
doubles-up as a platform for tendering. They have Infinite balconies, where they've scrapped
the traditional balcony and instead have a sliding glass panel with seating inside the cabin. This
has changed the whole exterior look of the ship. The venues are very different to the Solstice
and Millennium-class ships. The main dining room has gone, replaced by four stand-alone
restaurants that guests can rotate between. Celebrity Central has been replaced by The
Club, a two-level venue where they hold high energy activities. The Lawn Club's been
scrapped and now there is the Rooftop Terrace. All the specialty restaurants have been
replaced. For example, on Solstice, there’s Sushi on Five, Tuscan Grille,
Murano, and Silk Harvest. But on Edge, you have Fine Cut Steakhouse, Le Grand
Bistro, Le Petit Chef, and Raw on Five. The Production shows are more ambitious
with high tech screens. There’s more avant-garde shows in The Club.
Even things like the '80s quiz on Edge class involves air guitar
play off, dance offs, and so on. So, back to those two sets of people who
asked me for advice. For the 30-year-olds asking for advice about Celebrity, I told
them try Edge., but for the 60-year-olds who are used to traditional cruising, I steered
them towards Millennium or Solstice-class. But I told both of them before they went ahead, they needed to know What Celebrity
are doing less well right now. First of all, which is the flip side of everything
that I've spoken about so far, is that they are becoming a costly option. The downside of
going more up market and luxurious is cost. They're starting to narrow the gap in
price by leaping up from the fares on other premium class libes like
Holland America or Princess, and moving closer to those for smaller
ship lines like Oceania and Viking They announced that Always Included would be
their only fare. So, they built a cost increase into their fares because they included, as I
mentioned, gratuities, Wi-Fi, and drink package. Though they seem to have quietly be offering
cruise-only fares at time of recording still. The Always Included fare does add unwanted extra
cost for some, like me. I don't drink alcohol and I wouldn't normally have a drinks package,
but now I'm having to take the cost of that. Also, if you are a keen drinker and you prefer
premium brands, Always Included only offers the standard drinks package. Many people I met on my
last cruise had upgraded to a premium package. Wi-Fi included is standard, but I had to pay
to go premium to get streaming quality I need, and it still wasn't very good. Although, that's probably going to change with
the switch to Elon Musk's Starlink. Always Included includes gratuities, and that was a big plus because I found that
the crew were not angling for more tips. In fact, I still tipped my butler and
cabin steward, and they genuinely seemed surprised. I did notice a real change in how
the crew are being incentivized based now very much on guests’ ratings, and I think that
could be driving the service improvement. For example, In the Luminae restaurant,
my waiter made a point of saying, "Please fill out the survey, talk
about the overall experience, talk about the service. If you feel like
naming me, that would be great too." The second key-thing I think they're doing
less well is being consistent as they evolve. While making much of being more contemporary
and youthful, all the guest artists that were on board were still same faces and acts that
I see on all the other classic premium lines. Many still singing Beatles, Franki Vali and other
songs even I see my Mum’s era. She’s in her 80s, and they’re not playing contemporary sets
even for me, let alone younger guests. The live music around the ship was mostly
dated, and would usually lean into ABBA, Beatles and so on which is fine.
However, it's not modern or contemporary. Next, considering they want more families
to cruise Celebrity, talking to parents, they said the Kids Clubs and program
were fine, but it's not as good as the family lines. And there were no real
family-focused excursions on offer. The next area where they are falling
behind in my view is solo travel. It’s improved because they've introduced
some solo cabins on Edge-class, but there's only 16. There are only four solo cabins
on Silhouette and none on the others. So, in terms of solo travel, it's not
a great experience on Celebrity. I have paid the same as a couple on my
last 3 trips even though going solo. Based on all of that, both groups of people who
contacted me were happy with my recommendation, but if Celebrity is not for you, watch
this video about another premium line where I look at things that people
believe about them that I think are wrong. Starting with the if it is
stuffy and boring. See you over there.
