Bad Sailing on Millenium

My partner and I thought we'd give Celebrity a try. We have sailed Royal Caribbean 23 times, and once before on Celebrity several years ago. We are Diamond Plus on Royal, so we were given Elite status on Celebrity. So, we thought we'd compare the two. Well, our sailing on Millenium this past week was less than pleasant. The MDR service was horrible. We waited 40 minutes the first night just for our bread and water. The second night was so bad, we walked out and never returned to the MDR for the rest of the cruise. So, we opted for the Ocean's buffet. The problem....it's EXACTLY the same offerings each and every night. Stir fry, sushi, or pasta. Good at first, but boring after 5 days! At least the Windjammer (Royal) has different menu items each night, and even offers many of the MDR items during dinner. The loyalty rep NEVER introduced herself, and was very "snippy" with us on several occasions. In fact, the entire crew seemed very uptight and miserable. Not once, seriously, not once did I see one of them smile! Granted, several loyal Celebrity passengers told us this cruise seemed very unlike the Celebrity product. But unfortunately, it really gave us a bad impression. We want to try a Solstice-class ship, but I am very hesitant to return. Perhaps we were just unlucky with this sailing, and should give them another try.......

MDR can be good and bad. I have experienced both on Millenium. On my last Millie cruise, we had the worst waitress in traditional dining. LOng waits for dried up cold food. We did put up with it for too many nights. After a really awful meal, we left and went to the buffet. I agree the evening buffet wasn't thrilling. Then we called guest service and asked to switch to select dining. Select dining was very good. It was like being on a different ship. Food was served promptly and was very good. Same kitchen. The waiter makes the difference. If I hadn't tried the select dining, I would agree with you...and never take Celebrity again. I am elite. I am booked on a spring cruise. Be sure that if MDR isn't good, I will request another waiter/table.

I guess someone on the ship is lucky enough to have the best waiter on board and someone else is unlucky enough to have the worst.

I'd suggest if you find yourself receiving bad service again that you speak with the maitre 'd and ask to have your table, or staff, changed.

Most of the reviews, and our own experiance, on Millennium are much more positive that what RoyalDiamond's experiance was. I'm sorry they had such a poor experience when others have such nice ones.

I'd suggest if you find yourself receiving bad service again that you speak with the maitre 'd and ask to have your table, or staff, changed.

Bingo. It would take one night of bad service and I would be all of the Maitre D like white on rice. It is inexcusable, and bad service in the MDR should never be tolerated. Period. Service is their job, and if they can't do their job report them to the appropriate supervisor without fail. This is one circumstance where I will be the first to say 'it's MY vacation', and although I don't seriously expect them to bow and scrape every time I pass by, I expect to be treated like a guest who has spent several thousand of my hard earned dollars for MY vacation.

I guess we kept thinking it would get better...they would get their routine perfected. Oh well. Being only a short 5-night cruise, we didn't bother changing tables, although we proabably should have. I think I'd like to try at least a 7-night sailing on a Solstice-class ship, and give them another try. We'll see.....

I guess someone on the ship is lucky enough to have the best waiter on board and someone else is unlucky enough to have the worst.

As the late (great) George Carlin said, "Somewhere in the world is the world's worst doctor. And what's truly terrifying is that someone has an appointment with him tomorrow morning."

I guess we kept thinking it would get better...they would get their routine perfected. Oh well. Being only a short 5-night cruise, we didn't bother changing tables, although we proabably should have. I think I'd like to try at least a 7-night sailing on a Solstice-class ship, and give them another try. We'll see.....

Send an email or write a letter to Celebrity Cruises Customer Service referencing your sail date and table number. Also mention the names of your tables wait staff.

I think you may be right saying that being a short cruise might have something to do with it, but it is still inexcusable. Sorry this happened to you.

This review seems consistant with the other Millie reviews that have been posted recently. It has me concerned with what to look forward too on our cruise in late Novemeber - hopefully an amazing turn around in crew attitude & service levels to return to what people expect with Celebrity.

Send an email or write a letter to Celebrity Cruises Customer Service referencing your sail date and table number. Also mention the names of your tables wait staff.

 

I think you may be right saying that being a short cruise might have something to do with it, but it is still inexcusable. Sorry this happened to you.

How long does it take to received an email back from from Celebrity Customer Service (days or weeks) ?

How long does it take to received an email back from from Celebrity Customer Service (days or weeks) ?

I suspect that you would get a formal responce back from them within 30 days.

Friends of ours emailed us their report on their cruise of this past week on the Millie, lack of acceptable service, and the same words you used regarding the food, both in the dining room and buffet.

We were just on the Connie 12-night Turkey & Greece and had a most unusual experiemce in the MDR - we had 6 assistant waiters! We were told several different stories as to what happened to each one. The headwaiter came to us twice only because our waiter was beyond embarrassed and called on him for help to explain. Stories still varied. There were 14 of us at two tables dealing with this every night. The problem with that situation is the rhythm of the service is off for the entire meal. Getting bread and butter became a huge deal.

We have always chosen to eat in traditional dining as it's usually a very enjoyable time with excellent service and fun interaction with our waitstaff.

We were disappointed and surprised to see how little the whole crew interacted with the passengers. All 14 of us ate in the buffet every morning at the same seats. Waiters only came to our tables to clear used dishes (that often took a long time and we were sitting right across from their cleaning area). They never chatted with us and basically showed no interest. If you asked for something, they would deliver, but never was it offered.

On the other hand, our cabin steward went above and beyond. He was fabulous. After our day at Ephesus, my shoes were super dusty. I was just going to wipe them off with a tissue the next day. When we got back from dinner, they were sitting on a magazine on the bed polished and looking as good as when I bought them serveral years ago. I hadn't said a word to him about them being dirty. No towel animals, but a tasty piece of chocolate every night on our pillow.

We are on the Equinox Transatlantic next month. Not looking quite as forward to it as we were prior to the Connie. We had always been told that Celebrity was a step above Royal, but I must say it just didn't seem that way.

Nancy

We had the greatest service ever (!) in the MDR on Millie in May, 2010. Both waiter (Domnik) and ass't. waiter (Carlos) were excellent. Carlos has since been promoted to waiter. Perhaps all of the good people on Millie have transferred to "S" class ships?? That would be most unfortunate!

Family and I was on this same sailing as the OP and we thought the service in the main dining room was very good to excellent. We had traditional dining at early seating and our wait staff was just as good as we had on any other Celebrity sailing we had been on. Do agree with the OP on the Loyality Rep. not being very pleasant but as far as the rest of the crew we found up to the Celebrity Standard that we love. To us it was a good cruise and we would not hesitate to cruise on the Millenium again.

That is exactly my fear. :eek: Looks like the more experienced people are being transferred to the S class, leaving the M class, and especially the short Millie cruises, staffed with the new people. It would be a real disappointment to those of us who do not really care for the S class. Very much hope I am wrong about this.

Anne

I have certainly noticed a marked diminution of interaction by waiting staff in the MDR over the recent years. I am not looking for nightly magic tricks or anything but simple things like

*addressing me by name after the first night - not "Lady" or "Miss" as happened the last time we went to the MDR (we are making sure we now book on vessels with Blu where service is still good)

*remembering my coffee preference each night - and remembering it even after I've told you

*coming round to check my main is OK promptly, not so late that it would disrupt the rest of the table for a replacement to be got for me

*leaving the clearing of plates and the serving of the next course until all the guests have finished their course (accept of course if someone has ordered an extra course, there dish should be cleared and replaced) - it felt more like school dinners than even banquet dining last time I went to the MDR

The reason it is all going south is because wait staff are expected to look after a much larger number of tables than before and it affects the service.

(By the way, my last very average MDR dining room experience was on an S class ship before we moved to Blu.)

I also think having a large table is a less good idea if you want service (but a much better idea for ambience) - and why do they give the waiter who has one large table, two other large ones as well. balance it out. Also if large tables are tricky why put the rookie Assistants on these ones, its not fair on them

I'm feeling pretty guilty actually. I recommended Millennium to good friends. They just did the 15 days through the Canal followed by 20 days on Emerald Princess. Full suites on both ships.. they said it was night and day.

My partner and I thought we'd give Celebrity a try. We have sailed Royal Caribbean 23 times, and once before on Celebrity several years ago. We are Diamond Plus on Royal, so we were given Elite status on Celebrity. So, we thought we'd compare the two. Well, our sailing on Millenium this past week was less than pleasant. The MDR service was horrible. We waited 40 minutes the first night just for our bread and water. The second night was so bad, we walked out and never returned to the MDR for the rest of the cruise. So, we opted for the Ocean's buffet. The problem....it's EXACTLY the same offerings each and every night. Stir fry, sushi, or pasta. Good at first, but boring after 5 days! At least the Windjammer (Royal) has different menu items each night, and even offers many of the MDR items during dinner. The loyalty rep NEVER introduced herself, and was very "snippy" with us on several occasions. In fact, the entire crew seemed very uptight and miserable. Not once, seriously, not once did I see one of them smile! Granted, several loyal Celebrity passengers told us this cruise seemed very unlike the Celebrity product. But unfortunately, it really gave us a bad impression. We want to try a Solstice-class ship, but I am very hesitant to return. Perhaps we were just unlucky with this sailing, and should give them another try.......

Interesting. Have done 2 Solstice European cruises both in AQ and had wonderful service & overall experience. Reading through the X board I've noticed similar comments re Millie. Does anyone think that the problem may be that it is an "older" though updated ship & that the most experienced staff is being moved to the newer ships? I know that contracts are for so many months and then there is a staff move but...I still wonder. any ideas. Pls give Solstice a try it is a beautiful ship & the staff that we had really went over the top.

Carole

My personal opinion is that it doesn't matter what cruise line you go on, they have all drastically cut back on amenities, services, etc.

We just did an 18 day cruise on Emerald Princess and noticed how much things have changed w/ Princess. You can only push the personnel to do so much in a day and they are stretched very thin. I sometimes wonder how they have the stamina to keep up w/ all that is expected of them on cruise ships. They are in the MDR late at night, then you will see them on Lido doing breakfast duty or in the MDR doing breakfast duty. They must get little or no sleep. I try to keep this in mind when we start complaining. Our cabin steward was outstanding and tried very hard to keep up w/ all the demands asked of him from all of us. He had 17 cabins to take care of and had no assistant. We would try to give him a pat on the back every time we saw him, thanked him for the excellent services he was providing to us in keeping our cabin so immaculate, replacing anything that we asked him to, etc. He was always pleasant when we met him.

We found the food to be only mediocre, repetitive on Lido, MDR dinners were fair, breakfast menu was excellent, no complaints there.

I guess that we all need to realize that the good old days of cruising are no longer there and try to grin and bear it. We love to cruise so that is what we try to focus on.

We talked to many people on our cruise who were very unhappy w/ Princess and they were elite members, said they wouldn't be going on Princess again. I've heard the same about Celebrity.

I usually book a cruise because of the itinerary so don't feel loyal to any particular cruise line any more.

uktog, you have captured my feelings exactly. When we cruise, we loved the personal service we used to receive from the personnel. Our MDR head waiter would always know our names after the first night, now it's just madame. The head waiter would always come around and ask how our meals were and if they were not satisfactory, would replace the meal w/ another one. Not so now (at least this was our experience).

Ladies would always be served their dinners first, now its how the assistant waiter passes them out. I don't mean to complain (but I am) but I do feel that the personnel are expected to do so much more than before and they are just plain exhausted by all that is expected of them in their line of duty. No wonder they can't wait to go home and some of them told us they wouldn't be back. Time for the cruise lines to re-evaluate things!

I'm glad to hear that others are grumbling also and that it's not just me.

Mary

We just got off the Solstice in September and we definitely noticed how short-handed the staff was. It was very noticeable in the cafe. We are veteran Celebrity cruisers (over 20), so we remember the old days when the waiters were lined up and ready to carry your tray to the table. Our room steward was excellent, along with his assistant, but the poor guys had so many cabins to do. It is very obvious how they have cut back. Before we used to see familiar faces of the staff on different ships. Now you never see the same faces twice as I think they do their contract and don't return. Celebrity has gotten like so many other companies, it's just the bottom line that counts. Also, someone used to call us when we returned to discuss the comment cards and this year we didn't receive any call at all.

My personal opinion is that it doesn't matter what cruise line you go on, they have all drastically cut back on amenities, services, etc.

 

I'm glad to hear that others are grumbling also and that it's not just me.

 

Mary

Sea Day (2nd Segment of B2B) - 23rd October

 

Ahoy from the MIllie,

I hope I am not getting too carried away with the Celebrity experience, but we are truly impressed when compared with HAL and Princess, lots of little things that constitute that reasoning and hopefully they will start to emerge in the blog as we continue this journey.

 

Tony

I've been known to grumble about some of our cruise experiences.. :eek:;)

The most amazing aspect of cruising today seems to be the inconsistency of the experience. I know that luck of the draw will get you a good/bad waiter, a good/bad cabin attendant, a good/bad answer from Captain's club etc. This thread is about a negative experience on Millennium and a daily poster rates his experience on board superior to HAL and Princess.

We rated our overall cruise experience on Summit last month among our best ever (if I exclude the dining room). The most important part of our cruising today is to make sure that we cruise with friends.. If the cruise is sub par we can commiserate over a round of drinks when misery loves company.

"If the cruise is sub par we can commiserate over a round of drinks when misery loves company."

I totally agree w/ your statement, but our friends that we were cruising with don't drink! LOL So misery loves misery and we drank alone! Cheers.

Mary

We did Milly in Feb. and our experience was a lot like you. The staff was not friendly nor happy except our cabin stewart and the omelet guy

we boarded at 1pm for an 8:30 pm sailing and their was no greeting nor champagne when boarding, no one around.

I was very disappointed because I had read so much about Celebrity service. it just seemed disgruntled employees over untrained

We did select dining. did not care for the food, but this subjective .

we had terrible service, didnt receive many ordered items. now there was 2 of us , one would get an entree the other wouldnt type of thing. it was so slow we did not get dessert most nights just wanting to get out of there

mid cruise there was a survey. i complained on it. oh boy, after that we got over service. They couldnt do enough I just don't believe you should have to complain or hunt down a matre de to get good service.

I blame a lot of bad service due to the selective dining on these ships. I just dont think they can keep up with all the orders different times. We only do it when cruising more than 7 days out of fear of spending too many nights with same tablemates

I DO BELIEVE YOU CAN HAVE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES ON EVERY SHIP

any cruise line, restaurant or land vacation.

I am very much looking forward to our Equinox cruise

There is definitely something going wrong on the Millie. We were on the Connie for two consecutive years, then the Millie, Solstice and just recently the Infinity. The attitude of the crew and officers is lacking on the Millie based upon our experience from two years ago and the difference in service we received on the other ships. We almost didn't return to Celebrity after the Millie trip.

It was interesting that we met a staff member from the Connie that got transferred to the Millie just before our cruise on that ship. I was very surprised as she also confided in us that the attitude of the crew was lacking based on her Connie tour.

It's really sad to hear these things about the Millie. So sorry this was your first Celebrity experience. Hope they get things in order on that ship. It's not typical Celebrity.