What does Celebrity do right and what do they do wrong?

 

Have booked an Aqua class cabin, looking forward to dining in Blu. Read great reports above the food and the service in there.

 

Catherine

Hi Catherine

You'll love The Blu restaurant on The Eclipse. You've read correctly the food & service are excellent as is the actual room with huge windows bringing the sea to you. We are also booked in Aqua next June to The Baltics.

Phil

Hi Catherine

 

You'll love The Blu restaurant on The Eclipse. You've read correctly the food & service are excellent as is the actual room with huge windows bringing the sea to you. We are also booked in Aqua next June to The Baltics.

 

Phil

Thanks Phil, is it the same as us. 14th June on Eclipse. I been reading lots of good reviews about Celebrity.

I enjoy the whole cruising experience, having cruised quite a few times with Cunard.

Catherine

Just my 2 cents worth. Everything really sounds lovely. Just a wish list, a passenger coin laundry would be helpful.

I agree that is one thing Princess has going for it. I would even be happy with an "ironing room" in the bowels of the ship.

Based on our first cruise on the Eclipse

 

what they do well

(1) Service was excellent

(2) Plenty of choice food wise

(3) Stunning ship in very good condition

(4) Relaxed but still up market feel

(5) Whilst those who pay for better rooms get some extra facilities those who haven't paid the extra may well be blissfully unaware - we didn't constantly have to walk past areas that were off limits to us.

 

Not so well

For light drinkers / teetotalers like us the drinks packages aren't particularly good value and the cost of drinks on board is very high - it was cheaper to drink in Portofino!!

Celebrity offers free drink packages on almost evey cruise. You just have to watch and wait and book when the best deal is available. Don't worry about price, as long as you are basically satisfied with it, since you will get the lower price if it goes down. Note that you have to monitor the price and request the reduction. If you book with the right agency, you should be able to get the Classic Beverage Package and Prepaid Gratuities at no cost to you.

I agree that is one thing Princess has going for it. I would even be happy with an "ironing room" in the bowels of the ship.

That is a pretty good discription as where I think an ironing room should be. :D

I agree that is one thing Princess has going for it. I would even be happy with an "ironing room" in the bowels of the ship.

No want a laundry somewhere I can do a load of smalls and some T-Shirts, most things we pack are non-iron but I hate having be stateroom full of laundry hanging all over the place and on longer cruises I just don't own enough clothes it's OK on 7 or even 14 nighters.

Just off the Reflection today. I have sailed the Silhouette twice as well.

Goods: Good, well prepared hot food in the dining room.

There are actually a lot of goods, we loved our cruise and almost everything about it, BUT

Bad: The set up in the Oceanview Café is totally backwards. There were SOOO many people complaining about the backwards set up and I agree.

When you get your plate and line up at say the Mexican area, you start where all the bowls of "toppings" are. Well the nacho chips, taco shells and wrap shells are further down with the bowls of meat at the end. So many people would move through the line, get their taco shells or nacho chips and have to move backwards or line up at the start again to get the toppings for the taco, nachos etc. It was much more chaotic and confusing than it had to be and annoyed ALOT of people.

The food and service was great, and on the whole this is a minor complaint but with such a great buffet area with smaller round stations you had people moving in and out in every which direction made it quite chaotic at busy times. It just seems that a better flow would be a great improvement.

One thing I wish they would differently is allow you to pre-book shore excursions

and not have to prepay for them. On Princess it is a reservation charged to your shipboard account.That enables you to use any shipboard credit you have for your excursions.

Just got off of the Summit yesterday. My biggest frustration was that the MDR could not cook a steak to medium temperature. The steaks I was served were bleeding. When I did send it back, it came back well done. So bad that I stopped ordering steak. And I love steak.

Here is my 2 cents (lol, Cdn... So it isn't worth much as we have now done away with pennies :D )

 

Someone else "wished" for self-serve laundry facilities a few months ago on Celebrity

 

That was until another CC Member pointed out that the downfall to such facilities is someone (actually many someones) inevitably end up having to live in the cabins beside, above, below or near them.

 

Between the noise of the machines... And the increased hall traffic they can be a real pain in the butt for their neighbours

 

One of the great things about Celebrity is that for the most part the majority of the cabins & hallways are serenely quiet

 

Cheers!

On the Princess ships they tend to be located such that they minimize boarders with cabins, so while they do boarder some cabins it is fewer then one might think (crew work spaces, stairwells, etc.). Have had rooms close to them, including across the hallway from one. Did not notice any increase in noise or any other negative impact. They are also shutdown from 10 at night until 8 in the morning, usually locked during that time.

On the Princess ships they tend to be located such that they minimize boarders with cabins, so while they do boarder some cabins it is fewer then one might think (crew work spaces, stairwells, etc.). Have had rooms close to them, including across the hallway from one. Did not notice any increase in noise or any other negative impact. They are also shutdown from 10 at night until 8 in the morning, usually locked during that time.

Yep we had a cabin opposite the laundry once too, it was actually quieter than when we had cabin opposite with people opening and closing doors at all hours.

They could also put it in an even less used area of the ship, how about next door to the ships laundry.

Yep we had a cabin opposite the laundry once too, it was actually quieter than when we had cabin opposite with people opening and closing doors at all hours.

 

They could also put it in an even less used area of the ship, how about next door to the ships laundry.

Not likely considering the ships laundry is in a part of the ship that passenger cannot access and they tend to have a small laundry on each deck or every other deck.

If you ask your stateroom attendant, you will get an ice bucket with ice in your stateroom.

 

I wish I don't have to ask .

I wish I don't have to ask .

I'm sure you would only need to ask the once If you liked having a daily bucket of ice in your cabin. But I think this is a very practical, and economical change...as imagine how many Cruisers never use them and the effort to provide them, and their contents just go to waste.

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I wish I don't have to ask .

I absolutely agree that you should not have to ask for something as simple as ice being provided daily in your cabin. Remember....this is Modern Luxury! :eek:

Inconstant from ship to ship in training staff on special diet need passengers.

My wife has Celiac, the staff last yr on the Reflection was wonderful, she did not get sick once. Last week on the Equinox the 2 chefs making the GF pizza in the Oceanview were top notch, and the pizza wonderful. As were the staff in Silk Harvest. There were 14 in our group and they made sure she had GF dishes and enjoyed the meal as the others did.

Our waiter in the MDR had been with the Company since 1982 and was top notch too.

Murano's staff was good, but missed a step.

Where as the staff in Tuscan was very ho-hum. She was served the wrong food on both times we dinned there. The 1st time our dinning partners caught it, the second meal she was not so lucky, she ate a couple of bites, realized what happened, too late, spent the last day and a half sick in our cabin. Missed the final dinner with wonderful new friends.

Celebrity must do a better job of requiring any and everyone who is in the foods service side of the cruise to learn and understand just how serious this is.

I'm sure you would only need to ask the once If you liked having a daily bucket of ice in your cabin. But I think this is a very practical, and economical change...as imagine how many Cruisers never use them and the effort to provide them, and their contents just go to waste.

 

 

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And gather germs and possible noro-virus between uses....

I think the loss of in-cabin ice buckets is as much about sanitation as alleged cost-savings. And helps the cabin feel just a bit bigger.

I mean really, what costs are being saved by removal of them, they still own the buckets, so no cost saving there. The cost of making the ice to put in them is very negligible as the cruise line is making its own water and ice anyway (yes it does use some electricity to do this, but in the big scheme, hardly noticeable). the cabin steward is still in each cabin 2 times a day anyway, so perhaps 30 minutes a day per steward saved by not placing ice in all cabins while doing the nightly turndown. Hardly a savings with regard to the low rate of pay they received as gratuities have remained unchanged.

I've done a few Celebrity cruises on Solstice and about to do another two weeks on Milennium. I was disappointed in the food in my last celebrity cruise compared to the same ship 12 months earlier. Formal night was totally underwhelming and left me wondering why I bothered to frock up and drag hubby tuxedo thousands of miles. Tuscan grill was just ok but better than MDR Murano was wonderful food and service excellent. Silk harvest was good too. No conditioner in stateroom? Penny pinching in the extreme. Overall obviously I still enjoy Celebrity but the combination of ho hum food, nothing special about formal night and wildly varying entertainment from excellent to omg dreadful...might just have me scurrying back to Princess...and finally...your website is awful.

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I'm sure you would only need to ask the once If you liked having a daily bucket of ice in your cabin. But I think this is a very practical, and economical change...as imagine how many Cruisers never use them and the effort to provide them, and their contents just go to waste.

 

 

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Absolutely correct! We ask at the beginning of the cruise, because we DO use the ice and it is filled daily, frequently twice daily........all good...

Here is my (and DH's, I asked him) opinion

Plusses

Service everywhere

Blu/Aqua

ships are nice

the live entertainment/ the musicians

Qsine

Not having to check out towels at the pool

love the martini bar experience and happy hour there

Celebrity Central

Seeing your bill on the TV

The fabulous black and white cookies

Minuses

The website, gosh it is awful

Trying to get answers when you call Celebrity and the wait times when you do

It is truly unfortunate that it is so hard to get good customer service before you get on board. It turns me off, but we like the on board product so much that we book with them anyway. (I do that bookings, so DH doesn't have to do it.) Even our travel agent has trouble from time to time. Please, please fix the website and the call in and website experiences. Other cruise lines are so much better, so I know it can be done.

Ohiodoglover

The Good:

Excellent Customer Service (Especially on soon to be retired Century)

Best Rewards Program in the Industry (Elite and above)

Murano (Best Specialty Restaurant We've Been To)

State of the Art Ship Design (S Class)

Martini Bar (rated best bar on last CC survey)

Suites Have Incredible Service & Perks

Excursions Have Always Been Top Notch

The Bad

No Wrap Around Promenade Deck On S Class

Obvious Cost Cutting recently

MDR & Buffet Food Quality Deteriorating

Recent Activity Staff Cuts (as I've read)

Sales Pitches

The Ugly

Website

Loud Canned Music (from what I've read)

The Good:

Celebrity Passengers are The Best

Excellent Customer Service (Especially on soon to be retired Century)

Best Rewards Program Perks in the Industry (Elite and above)

Murano (Best Specialty Restaurant We've Been To On High Seas)

State of the Art Ship Design (S Class)

Martini Bar (rated best bar on last CC survey)

Suites Have Incredible Service & Perks

Excursions Have Always Been Top Notch (IMO)

Escargot and French Onion Soup Served Every Night! (Ummmm!)

Grilled Fresh Alaskan Salmon (Alaska Cruises)

The Bad

No Wrap Around Promenade Deck On S-Class (A Design Flaw)

Obvious Cost Cutting recently

MDR & Buffet Food Quality Deteriorating

Recent Activity Staff Cuts (as I've read)

Sales Pitches Are Pervasive and Annoying

Only 2 Elevator Areas on S-Class (Their Other Design Flaw)

The Ugly

Website Problems

Loud Canned Music (from what I've read) (Celebrity Used To Be Quiet)

QUOTE "One of the great things about Celebrity is that for the most part the majority of the cabins & hallways are serenely quiet"

Above is generally true unless your cabin happens to be next to a DOOR SLAMMER. Please be a little considerate and hold the door before it slams shut.

Thanks....

.

Our first cruise was on the Zenith. It was absolutely perfect. I have sailed every class of ship except the Meridian. Service, ports, food always excellent. I had one really bad experience on our second century cruise. I was not able to walk well and requested wheelchair assistance for debarkation. They only had small ones. They were really rude and unaccommodating. So much so I wrote a letter to Celebrity and got no response. This WAS an exception. And the only occurrence.

We were on a cruise and one of the waiters we knew was walking toward the MDR. He recognized my wife, gave her a hug and said "Welcome Home"!

The pros are that I like the feeling while I am on board. I like the food and 99.8% of the passengers. I really don't go to the shows much, they just don't interest me, regardless of cruise line.

I don't think there really is a bad cruise line .. although I doubt I'd sail with Costa :eek:

My wife and I enjoy cruising on Celebrity and look forward to each cruise.

Here is what Celebrity does well and the amenities we enjoy:

1) Outstanding food and customer service in the main dining room.

2) Glass Blowing Shows.

3) The Fitness Centre. The views you enjoy from the treadmills are breathtaking.

4) The Mast Grill.

5) The Tuscan Grille.

6) The Hideaway Lounge where you can grab a coffee or tea.

7) Cafe al Bacio where you can get complimentary pastries.

8) Cold towels when you return to the ship after a day in port.

9) The Classic Beverage Package. as part of 123GO

10) Well-maintained and modern ships.

What Celebrity needs to improve on:

1) Disembarkation. The long line-ups to get off the ship can be irritating and are due to sequestration at US customs.

2) The Celebrity website.