Up next in 10
I look at how Celebrity Cruises is fast changing as a cruise line and the challenges that creates for both existing and new cruisers considering a Celebrity Cruising vacation.
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0:00
on the first night I spotted a couple
0:01
probably early 70s sitting in the Grand
0:04
Plaza on Celebrity Edge looking a bit
0:07
startled with what they saw going on
0:09
around them it wasn't their familiar
0:11
Celebrity Cruises I also realized over
0:13
the next couple days that I was now
0:15
amongst the eldest onboard celebrity
0:17
unlike past trips they even had baby
0:20
change toilets appearing teens taking
0:22
over deck parties and the pools and the
0:25
guest Entertainer performance by the old
0:26
crew standard the barricade boys singing
0:29
their standard old show and Frankie
0:31
Valli songs were almost empty when they
0:34
performed while the family-friendly pop
0:36
music review show with acrobats like
0:38
Kaleidoscope was always packed on those
0:40
nights
0:41
when the cabin controls on my app failed
0:44
and I had to try and switch on the
0:46
lights and open and close the curtains
0:47
in my cabin manually I also realized
0:49
that on Celebrity Edge that if you were
0:51
not a smartphone user simple tasks like
0:53
that you would struggle with because
0:55
it's all now designed to be done on the
0:57
phone I'm Gary bembridge welcome aboard
0:59
as I look at celebrity and ask if
1:02
they've fallen out of love with and
1:03
don't want passengers like me on board
1:06
anymore so while my experiences were
1:08
definitely magnified by going on
1:10
celebrity age doing the school summer
1:12
vacation I feel we're seeing the
1:14
emergence of a two-type cruise line
1:17
within celebrity first of all there's a
1:20
more traditional experience on the older
1:22
Solstice and Millennium class ships
1:24
these are traditional ships in terms of
1:26
layout venues and experience
1:30
it's pretty much an old school cruise
1:33
ship experience with a more modern spin
1:35
to it some more contemporary music for
1:37
example in the shows activities
1:38
scheduled much later at night there's
1:40
more parties something that Classic
1:44
Cruisers will feel more familiar and
1:46
comfortable with just with a slightly
1:47
more modern spin then there is the new
1:50
direction of the future this is The Edge
1:53
class with Edge Apex Beyond and ascent
1:57
now let's ask for example recently on my
1:59
live stream just after the trip that I
2:01
was on
2:02
what was different on Edge versus
2:04
Solstice class ships my answer was
2:08
pretty much
2:09
everything is different first of all it
2:12
looks completely different from the
2:13
outside the shape and the hull is very
2:15
different they've introduced The Magic
2:17
Carpet which is both a bit of a gimmick
2:19
but also importantly a practical
2:21
solution to tendering it means they can
2:23
tender many people much quicker off the
2:25
ship by lowering the Magic Carpet and
2:27
using much bigger tenders next dining
2:30
has also totally changed they followed
2:33
the silver sea and virgin voyages
2:34
approach of scrapping the main dining
2:36
room which traditional cruises of course
2:38
are used to and many of them like but
2:41
now what happens is you rotate on the
2:43
Edge class between four restaurants
2:45
Cosmopolitan more traditional Normandy
2:48
more French Cyprus more Mediterranean
2:50
and Tuscan a little bit more Italian
2:52
they still of course have the big buffet
2:54
restaurant upstairs they've also
2:57
scrapped the speciated venues you find
2:59
on Solstice class ships completely
3:01
replacing them with totally new venues
3:03
so while on Solstice class You've Got
3:05
Sushi on five you've got Tuscan Grille
3:08
and Italian Steakhouse Murano the French
3:10
Bistro silk harvest the Asian Fusion on
3:13
edge it's all different you've got fine
3:15
cut Steakhouse the ground Bistro which
3:18
is French where they also do the little
3:20
La Petite Chef the interactive 3D table
3:22
thing you have Raw on five which is more
3:24
than just a sushi restaurant they also
3:26
have Eden which is a big venue with more
3:29
avant-garde dishes for dining as well as
3:31
running quirky shows a really big and
3:35
divisive change especially with more
3:37
traditional Cruisers used to traditional
3:39
balconies or Millennium and Solstice
3:41
class is a replace balcony cabins on
3:44
edge class with what they call infinite
3:46
balconies now while they argue these
3:48
cabins are 20 bigger basically you lose
3:50
the balcony and you have a sliding
3:52
window with some seating inside they've
3:54
added big spaces for active
3:57
crowd-pleasing high energy activities
3:59
like the club which has replaced
4:02
celebrity Central on solstice this is a
4:06
two-level venue hosting high energy
4:07
activities and quizzes and some quirky
4:10
Cabaret Morgan to what I've actually
4:12
seen on the trendy line virgin voyages
4:15
the theater is a big high-tech one with
4:18
big projection screens outdoor is also
4:22
much more focused around and in some
4:23
ways I feel like posing being seen
4:27
people watching socializing so you've
4:29
got a big pool resort Deck with a
4:31
massive big big pool the lawn Club on
4:35
Solstice class ships has been replaced
4:36
with the rooftop garden which has a
4:38
grill a Sunset Bar behind that at the
4:41
back they've also got one of the longest
4:44
and best running tracks which weaves its
4:46
way through the resort Tech so again you
4:48
can be watched while you're running as I
4:50
mentioned there are those other changes
4:52
like baby changing toilets bigger kids
4:55
clubs and other more family friendly
4:57
things on the Edge class the daily
4:59
program looks and reads very similar to
5:02
the solstice ships but it's even more
5:05
youthful interactive louder and I would
5:08
argue much more energetic so for example
5:10
the 80s quiz has the teams doing
5:13
dance-off and guitar band battles the
5:16
passengers versus officers challenge was
5:18
loud noisy boisterous the deck party was
5:21
really Rowdy really big and very kind of
5:24
interactive the other thing I noticed is
5:26
celebrity are using younger people and
5:28
families in their ads and in their
5:30
onboard materials like the Excursion
5:32
videos had more families in and they're
5:34
definitely adopting and promoting more
5:36
issues that I think appeal to kind of a
5:38
younger crowd so for example the ship
5:40
godmothers they have Malala for Edge who
5:43
of course became extremely well known
5:45
for being injured by the Taliban and for
5:47
promoting women in education rashima
5:50
sajani for Apex Who is the founder of
5:53
the girls who code to really push and
5:55
improve women in Tech Simone biles for
5:58
beyond the well-known U.S gymnast who is
6:00
very public on mental health issues
6:01
during the Tokyo Olympics they make a
6:04
big issue of crew diversity which in
6:06
reality is mostly focused on women in
6:09
senior roles including of course Captain
6:10
Kate the first North American woman
6:12
Captain who is this sort of their face
6:14
in their social media Ambassador I also
6:17
saw a very different experience on edge
6:20
with dress code even though they were
6:23
still Chic Knights few people bothered
6:26
now my previous trips on Celebrity
6:29
Solstice and silhouette guests
6:31
absolutely did dress up more but again
6:34
this was because it was full of more
6:36
traditional cruises and on edge it was
6:39
only really those traditional Cruisers
6:40
amongst the guests that did actually
6:42
bothered to really get dressed up much
6:44
more so all these factors mean that Edge
6:47
class ships are without a shadow of a
6:49
doubt in my mind attracting to celebrity
6:51
a young anger and more family group of
6:54
Cruisers certainly on those ships less
6:57
so on the other classes of ships that
6:59
than what I've seen so far now this
7:01
revelation of what's happening it
7:03
strengthened by how I actually held back
7:06
on booking Edge class ship that would
7:08
book a solstice Last Ship on a trip
7:10
we're planning so my partner Mark and I
7:12
are looking at taking his mum to
7:14
Australia a place that she's always
7:15
wanted to go celebrity Edge is going to
7:18
be in Australia and would be an easy way
7:20
for us to explore the region much more
7:22
but after being on edge I decided
7:24
there's no way that I would take her on
7:26
Celebrity Edge it's too modern the
7:28
infinite balcony would absolutely
7:30
alienate her she doesn't use a
7:32
smartphone so controlling things in a
7:34
cabin and booking things on the app
7:36
would definitely be an issue it would be
7:37
a no-go in fact she would also miss the
7:40
whole sense of dressing up more than she
7:43
would do on the other classes if there
7:46
was a solstice or Millennium cluster but
7:48
I would book it because I do believe
7:49
that not only will it attract a more
7:52
classic Cruiser and have the guess the
7:54
match and would be a better fit for
7:57
people who want a traditional experience
7:58
like if you were taking Sally there is
8:00
one other big development of celebrity
8:02
that appeals to me but is dry having a
8:05
lot of people away and it's affecting
8:07
also though some of my other plans as
8:09
I'll explain after told you what this
8:11
whole issue is celebrity absolutely
8:13
wants to become a Luxury Line not just
8:16
seen as a premium line so in the premium
8:18
category that they're officially
8:20
classified in you've got things like
8:21
piano cruises UK Princess home in
8:23
America and virgin voyages or with
8:25
similar experience and pricing until now
8:29
celebrity have increased their prices
8:32
above those other lines and many people
8:35
tell me they're now looking for
8:36
Alternatives because they feel it's
8:38
getting just too costly celebrity now
8:41
calls themselves in all their marketing
8:43
materials a luxury line and they call
8:46
their ships online and in fact in the
8:49
various advertising they did on board as
8:51
luxury cruise ships and the fair
8:53
reflexes Fair changes were driven I
8:56
think by two key reasons first of all to
8:59
be more like luxury lines they went more
9:01
all-inclusive with their always include
9:04
fares which include gratuities standard
9:08
drinks package and regular Wi-Fi this is
9:10
always going to be their only fair but
9:12
I've seen now when you're booking
9:14
they're quietly reintroduced a cruise
9:16
only fair I guess because they're seeing
9:19
quite a lot of pushback still to those
9:20
sort of prices the second reason is of
9:23
course they want to signal that they are
9:26
a luxury line but where is all that fair
9:28
money going and how are they doing on
9:31
their positioning as a Luxury Line in my
9:33
view
9:34
The Deco has significantly gone plusher
9:37
on the Edge class ships but also with
9:40
the refits that they're doing and have
9:42
done on the older Solstice and
9:43
Millennium class ships you can see the
9:45
impact of the designer Kelly hoppin and
9:48
others they've worked with as the ship's
9:50
feel and look more luxurious the soft
9:52
Furnishings the bedlin and the towels
9:54
they're all up in quality from what I
9:56
remember the food across the ship is
9:58
much improved and I find it excellent
10:01
across all of the venues the style and
10:03
the Flair of the presentation as well
10:05
the taste looks very premium there are
10:08
also little touches that show luxury for
10:10
example I don't drink alcohol or
10:12
caffeine I drink caffeine-free Diet Coke
10:14
now on some of their close competing
10:16
lines I was on recently like princess
10:17
they don't stock it at all on Celebrity
10:20
not only do they have it but any bar I
10:22
went to often or places I went to often
10:25
they started to make sure it was always
10:27
there service was high even though
10:30
gratuities are now included but what I
10:33
did find interesting is crew we're now
10:36
much more interested in me mentioning
10:38
their names in the post Cruise survey
10:40
and also on what ratings I was going to
10:42
give for the overall experience in the
10:45
venue as well as for the service so when
10:47
I was discussing this with my waiter in
10:49
the restaurant the luminae he was saying
10:51
that the most important score for them
10:53
now on that survey is the overall
10:56
experience in there not just the service
10:58
and then of course having their name
11:00
mentioned so celebrities seem to be
11:02
making passenger scores for service and
11:05
experience essential to cruise
11:07
performance reviews and incentives
11:08
another touch that I'd sort of see
11:10
typical of luxury Cruise Lines Another
11:13
Touch I normally see on Ultra Luxury
11:15
lines was here as well in the daily
11:18
program from the very first day was a QR
11:20
code and a contact encouraging us to
11:23
submit issues or things we wanted sorted
11:25
or improved direct to the hotel director
11:28
to ensure it was taken care of
11:31
across the ship there are high-end
11:32
Brands Apple Cartier Bugari and Tiffany
11:35
they have Peloton bikes in the fitness
11:37
center there's a real sense of upping
11:40
that whole sense of luxury they've also
11:43
upped the premium side of the line with
11:46
a class based system feeling like you
11:48
see on Cunard where based on what grade
11:50
of cabin you're cruising in determines
11:52
what restaurant you eat in so if you're
11:54
booked in an inside an ocean view or
11:56
balcony cabin you eat in one of those
11:58
four restaurants that I was talking
12:00
about earlier if you're in an aqua class
12:02
you eat in the Blue restaurant if you're
12:05
in a suite what they call the retreat
12:07
you eat in the luminai restaurant The
12:09
Retreat has many other unique features
12:12
so for example I have the suite A Butler
12:15
the Lumina restaurant a lounge with
12:17
concierge's to help you make
12:19
arrangements a large Deck with a pool
12:21
hot tubs bar and I could eat lunch out
12:23
there I had priority boarding
12:25
disembarking tendering and I even had
12:27
reserved seating on sheet nights in the
12:30
theater they really have elevated that
12:33
whole sweet luxury experience and Beyond
12:36
what the other competitive lines are
12:37
doing now people by the way not
12:39
traveling the tree did get a little bit
12:41
miffed because the exclusive Retreat
12:43
spaces do actually take up quite a lot
12:46
of space on the ship
12:47
celebrity does in my mind feel more
12:50
luxurious than when I've been on America
12:52
princess you know cruises UK and virgin
12:55
voyages so I realized that it has become
12:58
a good alternative when I want to go
13:00
luxury without the cost of those Ultra
13:03
Luxury lines like seabo and silver seed
13:05
of course I don't get the small ship
13:07
experience but that Retreat itself is a
13:10
really really wonderful experience now
13:13
my partner Mark is a big big fan of
13:16
Cunard Queen's Grill but I want to
13:18
change a future Q not plan that we've
13:20
got into a celebrity Retreat trip
13:22
because it's more contemporary and the
13:24
lounge the deck and the perks I think
13:26
are much better than the Q naught
13:28
equivalents although Cunard Queens will
13:30
probably still Pips them a little bit on
13:31
the menu if after hearing all of the
13:34
celebrity doesn't appeal to you and you
13:35
crave a more classic experience watch
13:37
this video where I blow apart some of
13:40
the myths that people have about Holland
13:42
America starting with the one that talks
13:44
about it being stuffy and old-fashioned
13:47
see you over there
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