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.