High on the Seas

45 minutes ago, thepoint said:

I remembered from years ago there was a website that listed some of the ships that were booked for large groups.  Took me awhile, but I found one.  There are only a few charters listed for Celebrity ships.   I think there is another website I will keep looking.  

 

See this website   https://www.cruisetimetables.com/full-cruise-ship-charters.html

 

This is a good resource but appears to be for the entire cruise and would not apply for a situation like we encountered where a large group of travel agents or medical professionals were onboard and reserved many of the venues. 

3 minutes ago, Sherry MGM said:

I was also on this sailing in Aqua class.  You get 3 free exercise classes.

Sorry if I misspoke. We didn’t see any information on free classes. 

10 minutes ago, thepoint said:

High On The Seas

 

How do you research whether there is a large group on your sailing?  Thank you. 

At least on Celebrity, you can’t, and therein lies the issue. When we returned I called my travel agent and she told me that Celebrity refuses to divulge information regarding the makeup of customers on any of their sailings. 

9 hours ago, cinderellen said:

Curious if you ever received a response to your email? In 2006 my husband and I took our first and only NCL cruise. A couple weeks before we sailed, we found out it was the “Good Morning America Ladies Cruise”. We contacted our TA and she contacted NCL. She called us and said they assured her the group would not impact our cruise. It was chaos. Every venue was packed. Not to mention the helicopter that landed on the ship every morning so they could do their live show. 😳

The day after I emailed, an invitation to a sail away on the bridge showed up in our room with a call from guest relations asking if we still had concerns. Felt like getting thrown a bone to make the complaint go away. We didn’t attend. I sent a follow-up to corporate

(LHB) but didn’t hear back on either note. Never received anything from Celebrity that vaguely resembled an apology. 

1 minute ago, QuestionEverything said:

Thank you for your post.

Disgusting to be frank and a Celebrity deliberate, known and deemed acceptable decision that would reduce the cruise product for the non group patrons.

We experienced this in the past on Celebrity as well as a Celebrity cruise when all the soft goods were removed from all public spaces 2 days in advance of a nude cruise.

We cancelled Celebrity and moved to the premium lines and are thriving.

Good for you to go to guest relations and state your concern - guest relations on any cruise line are useless at best.

Give thought to moving on.

 

After 25+ cruises with Celebrity we now feel we have no choice but to move on. We already have a land tour in Spain and Portugal scheduled and are looking at a Viking cruise to Norway and Iceland. 

9 minutes ago, crimsonbird said:

We will be in aqua in a couple of weeks.  Did u ask your steward for a bottle of wine upon boarding?  I read that one needs to request it in aqua class.  Also, how many exercise classes were included?  Was dining in the aqua restaurant easy?  We are unable to make reservations.  Are they even needed?  Thanks in advance.

 

We did not request. The quality is usually not great for a free bottle and since we had the premium drink package you can get better quality that way. 
 

No exercise classes included. They come at a cost. 
 

You cannot reserve a dinner time in Blu. They open at 5:15 and up until about 6:00 you can usually be seated immediately. By 7:00 or 7:30 there is usually a line and a short wait. 

1 hour ago, mathed101 said:

Thanks so much for this info. I don't have the cruises booked yet so I didn't get the app yet but I will take a look at it anyway.

You can load the app anytime. Viewing any current cruise will give you the dining times. 

Leg 1 -

The Good - 

After getting to the pier, check in was quick and the safety briefing only took minutes.  We picked up keys from the room and headed to the cafe for a coffee.  Service at bars was normally quick and staff everywhere pleasant.  

The bad - 

Our preferred dinner time had to be adjusted to very early in the evening.  If you waited until 7 or 7:30 Blu was backed up and there was a wait for tables.  Once you got in, service was slow and it took between 2 and 2 1/2 hours to complete the meal service.  As with previous years, they seem short of workers and although they are doing the best they can, they seem a bit stressed trying to keep up.   Only 2 sommelier's for the entire restaurant and they also have to run back and forth to the bar for drinks so we had little time to discuss wine selections with them.  Way too much lamb and duck selections on their menu for our tastes and we found ourselves having to order from the main dining room numerous times if we wanted variety over the 14 days.

The buffet was busy during the breakfast and lunch hours.  Food was average but any kind of bar service almost non-existent.  Once you found a place to sit (not easy at times) you had to go to the bar and ask for a drink or specialty coffee on your own.  Another case where it appears staffing has been cut way back.     

Leg 2 - 

The good - 

Met at Tuscan at 9:45 to leave ship and go through customs.  Very smooth and had new sea pass cards in no time.  Went through safety drill again and were ready to enjoy the last six days of our cruise

The bad - 

Same as first leg of cruise

The Ugly - 

Things went downhill fast when we began to notice that many passengers seemed to be part of large groups, some numbering in the hundreds.  One large group that was a travel agency conference on board we were told had between 400 and 800 attendees.  Celebrity closed venues all over the ship including the Sky Lounge, Celebrity Central, and Cellar Masters for private events over the 6 days.  The Sky lounge was closed for over 11 hours the first two days of the cruise for private events.  I went to Guest Relations to complain that other paying customers should not be locked out of so many venues and was told by the manager there that they had the right to close any portion of the ship as they deemed fit for a special event at any time.  She told me I would just have to find somewhere else to go.  She was quite rude, unapologetic and couldn't have been less concerned about my complaints. 

Because these large groups kept together there were many times that you could not get near some of the bars and casino for periods of the cruise and the noise levels were exceptionally loud.  I can see a bit of a party atmosphere in some areas but this spilled over to the restaurants and at times you couldn't have a conversation because of how loud people were.  

The number of intoxicated people was higher than on any other Celebrity cruises I have been on and no one at Celebrity ever stepped in to cut them off.  People were vaping at the outdoor pool and in the casino and again, no one would stop them.  

I guess when you are catering to special interest groups that can help with your business you simply look the other way.  Even some of the employees were complaining about the behavior of some of the guests.

I am sure that were people on this cruise may not have seen some of this behavior but my wife and I usually never leave the ship so we frequent many of the places that were closed on an ongoing basis and had more time to have been exposed to the behaviors of the some of the guests.  We have been cruising Celebrity since 2002 and remember the way people used to behave and the levels of service we used to get.  

Sorry about the long diatribe, but there doesn't appear a way to find out ahead of time if large groups will be on your cruise as Celebrity refuses to divulge this data so there is always a risk this could happen to you in the future.  I think having access to that information ahead of time may have saved us a lot of hard feelings and it would be the right thing to do on Celebrity's part (imho).             

2 hours ago, mathed101 said:

Would you please tell me where can I find the hours of operation for the MDR Breakfast and the breakfast in Blu?

Hours for all restaurants can be found on the Celebrity app. 

2 hours ago, mathed101 said:

 

Were you informed or invited to the Concierge Lunch on your turnaround day since you were on a B2B? If so, did you go and how was it?

We were but did not attend. We did have friends on the same B2B and they did go and enjoyed it. They also had a wine raffle during the B2B meeting and gave away 4 bottles of wine. 

4 hours ago, amygutman said:

Thank you so much for this post. In an aqua class suite on a girl's getaway in July - got an amazing deal and could not say no. Have not been on Celebrity since the summit about 8 years ago but the Reflection looks lovely. 

 

Regarding the thermal spa access - it seems like you had a difficult time finding loungers? Is there the say "chair hog / towel reserving" issue there is on decks? If so, did you find that the spa manager was receptive to relocating the offenders belongings?

 

Curious as to the "discounts" given to the aqua suites as well - considering the ridiculously high spa prices at sea, it would have to be a heck of a discount to book anything I could enjoy just as well at home (plus, no pressure to buy lotions, etc). 

 

Thank you again!

Warmest Amy

The chair hog issue I was referring to happens a majority of the time on the pool deck, however it also occurs during peak times in the spa on the hot ceramic loungers. In the spa it isn’t an issue of leaving their belongings and walking off, people go there and fall asleep or read or work on their laptops and don’t leave for long periods of time. The spa loungers are more available on port days than sea days. Remember the spa is accessible for both Aqua suites and regular Aqua rooms. It can also be purchased via a pass for any other room. The spa may offer some discounts on port days. One final note, the Reflection has not been revolutionized so although you have access to the spa and the Retreat lounge there is no Retreat deck for suite customers. 

25 minutes ago, mathed101 said:

Would you mind telling me about where we can have  breakfast and lunch on the ship both included in the cruise fare and specialty? 

 

Here's what I have gathered (which may or may not be correct):

 

The buffet is open everyday for B, L, and Dinner.

The MDR is open for lunch on sea days and dinner every night.

The Mast Grill is open for lunch everyday.

Room service has continental breakfast with no service charge.

The Spa Cafe has small plates for B and L.

 

Not sure about the Specialty places for breakfast or lunch like the Porch and Sushi on 5 etc...  and if the MDR is available for breakfast.

 

Thanks for your assistance!!

If you are in Aqua class Blu is open for breakfast and there is a continental breakfast in Tuscan if your loyalty level is Elite Plus. Cafe Al Bacio also has complimentary breakfast items like donuts and muffins. 

29 minutes ago, thepoint said:

Could you please post the email address for Laura, or tell me where I can find it.  Thank you 

Lhodgesbethge@celebrity.com

1 minute ago, QuestionEverything said:

Hi High on the Seas (love your handle 👋).

It is your $ and purchase accordingly.

Having loyalty to a cruise line, hotel chain, restaurant is not longer worth considering. Those days of benefits for loyalty are gone.

Purchase what makes best for you, each consumer should do this. 

The corporations are still acting like they can rely on their "obedient consumers", well not so sure about that, comments on CC indicate consumers are abandoning their long time suppliers for other options.

I am very skeptical of the cruise lines these days; cut backs, reduced port times, changes after booking a specific product offering. 

I have moved much of my travel $ to other vacation options.

Have a great time what every you choose to do - YOU are #1.

We are off to Spain and Portugal (15 day land tour) in less than 3 weeks so this one goes in the lessons learned category. And I agree 100 percent with you on tour loyalty comments. Take care and happy vacationing wherever your travels take you. 

28 minutes ago, QuestionEverything said:

Thank you for alerting us to this situation.

Appalling.

We were on a Connie cruise many years ago that ended in San Diego. The last 2 days were totally disrupted by Celebrity as they removed all the soft services in the public areas because...............a nude cruise was the next voyage.

I created quite a scene, with other guests, and we all got a $500 refund on our bill, no not a FCC, a Refund. There was mutiny aboard. 

Hence why we only do premium and above cruise lines now, limited to no group bookings where these groups hijack the ship.

I am very sorry you have experienced this - and the loss/compromise of the Sky Lounge much is a major reason we cancelled Celebrity.

My wife and I are heading in the same direction. 

25 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

It makes sense to take large groups, especially revenue generating travel agents on the ships.   We have been onboard when they had other large groups and it just took the sky lounge offline for a few hours.   We have also had bad experiences with large family groups/reunions.   They were very loud in all venues and each one had a special diet.   Service suffered.   Better if they charter the whole ship but them there would be complaints of cancelled bookings.

The sky lounge was closed for almost 10 hours the first two days of the cruise for one group. 

Since then, they have had additional closures for several hours a day in the sky lounge, and they have also had private functions in Cellar masters, the theater, and celebrity Central.

Every time they do this, everyone else has to find another place to go, which overloads other areas of the ship.

I can see this benefits Celebrity but it’s really frustrating for the other customers. 

2 hours ago, hcat said:

 love this photo.. did you tender in to port?

Yes all ships had to use tender services. 

3 hours ago, Gaynors said:

So sorry for your experience.  It is not fair that such a large group can affect the "regular" paying customers experience.

 

We board her Saturday I really hope we don't have that same issue.

I hope you do not either. Our 8 day prior to this one was so much nicer. 

54 minutes ago, High on the Seas said:

 

I just mailed Laura Hodges-Bethge. Catering to travel agents who can bring them future business is obviously much more important than individual customer concerns. 

1 minute ago, hcat said:

Hotel Director?  Cruise 

1 minute ago, hcat said:

Hotel Director?  Cruise Director?

Guest relations Maanager

3 hours ago, Harborgirl246 said:

Found this online.

Thanks for the info Harborgirl246. 

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Complain now at Guest Rel..or via the computer code!   They are probably  catering to them in all venues to boost sales. 

 

We once had a  delayed boarding while X had a  pre boarding luncheon for travel agents who keft hefire sailaway... we got extra OBC for the delay!

I talked to somebody at the guest relations desk, and They were not helpful at all. All they would do is apologize and say that the venue would be more open in the days to come. I escalated to a manager and she refused to do anything only admitting the venues are sometimes closed for special events on occasion and that I should look for other places to go to on the ship. At this point, I’m going to write a letter to corporate, but I’ll be off the ship in a few days and it will be too late to have the problem addressed while I’m still on board. I have been on over 20 celebrity cruises, and the service over the last several has gone consistently downhill.  If this is how they are going to treat their individual customer base and give preferential treatment to large groups. It’s time to move on. I hope any of the people with future cruises do not run into the same set of problems that my wife and I are having. 

49 minutes ago, markincanada said:

Thanks for providing information.  I do have a few questions for our upcoming April cruise on Reflection.  We are also Aqua class.

 

• What do people appear to wear to Blu at night.  We are trying to limit what we bring.
• How crowded is Blu at night.  Are there waits to get seated
• What is your favourite place to chill and enjoy?

 

Thanks again.

It has been a casual dress atmosphere. I have worn dockers and a polo shirt every night with no issue. Some are wearing dressier outfits. I haven’t seen people wearing jeans or athletic shoes. I would say peak eating hours have been 6:30 to 7:30 and you will most likely encounter at least a short wait at peak times.  I like to sit up in the sky lounge during the day. If there are no events going on, you can sit back and just enjoy the view through the panoramic windows. 

Busy day at the Cayman Islands. NCL, MSC, and Disney are here also. 

10 minutes ago, hcat said:

A group of 800 is huge..do you know what group it is? They take things over en masse.

 

  I would  make a complaint..esp if you are excluded from certain areas regularly..Maybe get some OBC you could use for Specialty dining

They are travel agents. The private event sign says “Make Your Mark”.