Beware Summit CC8063 and 8061

Hi everybody,

first of all, thanks for the great info you share withy the world at large. This is a great board and you make it so. I thought I'd contribute my bit as well, after having being a silent bustander for many months.

I am presently on the Summit, cruising Alaska southbound to Vancouver. I booked a CC cabin (8063) ten months ago, when the choice was still very wide, choosing carefully its location, and reading every post imaginable to discover some hidden fault. Guess what - the window washer is parked between my cabin and cabin 8061, so that it faces forward in my cabin and aft in 8061. It's a big ugly crane, which juts out - and you see it from practically everywhere in the room and the balcony. Needless to say, Celebrity does not list this cabin as having partial visibility and I paid the top price for it. What makes things even more jarring is that the ship is lovely and the crew superbe, working very hard to make your vacation a special one. Even the weather has been exceptional. So coming back to the cabin every day has a oh-shucks feeling every time anew. You ccan imagine what it was seeing Hubbard glaciers really close, under sunny skies, from behind metal bars. The company's policy is being, unluckily, one of "let's behave as if the problem is not there and maybe it'll go away" , one I have noticed from time to time in this forum. The first time I enquired whether it was going to move, they said they'll check. When they didn't get back to me, I enquired again, to be told the problem had been forwarded to the head office. When I contacted Hotel Manager, I was told this thing wasn't going to move ("It has been there quite a while" even more irritating - you could have TOLD me), and heard many cooing noises but no effectual answer. I have been offered a 10% discount on a future cruise - which actually means I might be paying 90% to get a cabin with another hidden fault, with a discount they anyway offer on a quasi standard basis, and told if I wish to get some other form of reimburse I will have to pursue this problem after the end of the cruise, which is extra silly, because it makes me more angry at them, and not less.

So if any of you people have booked these cabins, do set your TAs right away onto Celebrity and check carefully the situation (since this things has wheels and is placed on railings) NOW. Also check the cabins on top of these ones, since the top part of the crane (a kind of working platform) is in front of them too, even if it seems it would provide less of an abstacle.

There three more of these window washers another one in front and two aft, all in front of cabins, but I can't be more precise as to their position.

I will be posting a full review of the ship and the cruise from a place where internet rates are less outrageous.

Goodbye for now

A.

Hi anon60,

I feel sorry for your experience. Thanks for the heads-up about this situation. It does seem like the least Celebrity could do is to let passengers know if there is going to be an obstruction in front of their full price balcony window. I agree with you that this is not fair to passengers. All other cruise lines give notice when a view is or may be obstructed and reduce the price accordingly. Giving discounts on future is not adequate, when all a passenger is asking for is what they have paid for.

Don't let it get you down and enjoy the rest of your cruise.

I feel so bad for you. The same thing is on Infinity. We got one of those cabins on the Infinity and when we walked into the cabin, we almost fell over. I immediately marched down to the desk and fortunately they had another cabin for us to move to. We were on a 15 night cruise to Hawaii and if we would have had to look at that everyday, I would have been so disappointed. It is not a small thing, it obstructs half of those balconies. It is not listed anywhere that those cabins on the Millenium class ships have this equipment, you only know if someone tells you or you experience yourself.

We have marked these down for future reference--that's even worse than getting stuck with the pie shape balcony in cabins next to the suites(where the suite occupants look right into your room!) These obstructed view cabins whihc is what they are should be noted & sold at deep discount--I would not be happy hope you had a good time nonethess--we muddled through the one with the tiny one person balcony ...

I have heard/seen other complaints such as yours and I still don't understand why Celebrity cannot designate it as a partially obstructed view. I guess the reason is so that they can get full price for the room. Perhaps if we make enough noise on these boards and/or take our business to cruise lines that are more forthcoming, Celebrity will take heed. I am booked in 8090 on the Millennium and am worried now.

That is SO too bad!!! We just got off the Summit (we were in 8130) on the Northbound from Vancouver and it was fabulous! You're right - the staff is exceptional and I did love watching out the deck at the wonderful scenary going by. We saw whales from there and from our dinner table - that was SO cool..... My favorite part was the Hubbard Bay - we got very close to the glacier - I've never seen anything like that!!!!! Did you do the train through Denali? We did it after our cruise, and Celebrity did an exceptional job there - unbelieveable customer service on that..... Good luck with the rest of the cruise - hopefully it won't rain much (we only lost one excursion to rain) - and may you see LOTs of critters :D

Hi, Anon, and we miss your posts on Trip Advisor:). I am happy you are enjoying the ship and so sorry about the blocked views from your cabin. You are correct that if this has been an issue for some time, it should have been handled honestly.

Travel safely and enjoy the rest of your trip.

Hey ddonald!

We are leaving on the Summit Sept. 14th from Vancouver!

How was the weather? I'm just wondering what to take as far a clothes!

Firinggirl

So that we'll all be on the same page as we condemn Celebrity, please know that #8061 is actually listed as 40% obstructed.

Having seen the window cleaning structure myself, I suspect that the #8063 obstruction involves a "straight down" blockage.

I have to think a good bit to remember what ship we aere on and we found the same thing, and what an exexpected event that was!

The darned thing never moved, so if they were NOT going to wash the windows, then please...

Good for the OP to point out for others the deficiencies of these two cabins, it definately detracted the ambiance for us while we were on board.

To get the idea of the 'huh' effect, think Freeport coming into port with the feeling of 'filling up at the pumps' and of Ft. Lauderdale...look out at where you are going, NOT what you are leaving.

This will give you a sense of the cleaning apparatus for the entire trip. In a word, Unwelcome.

Why don't they wash the windows in port or some other time rather than when sailing :eek: ?

This concerns us as we have an aft/balcony for '08 (know it is a way off:( on Millie) but...this seems absurd. Since we will be first time cruisers perhaps there is something that we do not know and so to be fair...could there be a reasonable explanation? The turnarounds, etc.

Hope that the OP has a good cruise otherwise. :)

Anon60 - I would complain loud and clear to CC and Homeoffice. A good CC friend of ours FFLADY from the board had the same problem on an Alaska Cruise. I am sure she would share with you her experience. I believe she even sent pictures.

She received an apology and a acceptable OBC for a future cruise.

Good Luck.

Thanks for simapthy. My TA is trying to get Celebrity to admit there was something wrong. FYI, the stupid thing never moved once during our cruise. Having developed an understandable sensitivity to window washers, I noticed that on other ships, like the Voyager of the Seas, the contraption is hidden from view and not parked in front of a cabin. I can't fathom why Celebrity can't do that too. And believe me, I scoured the internet before and after booking - including reading this blessed board front and back - and didn't find anything wrong mentioned about 8063. I am now "chilling out' in Vancouver for a few days before taking the long flight home. CaviarGal, thanks, I will resume posting on tripadvisor as soon as I get back.

The weather was magnificent during the whole duration of our cruise - it was sunny even in Ketchikan. You didn't need gloves even on a glacier. But now in BC it's overcast and slightly cooler.

Have great cruises, everybody!!!

I had one of those near me on a HAL ship one cruise and it banged around a lot in high seas creating quite a racket, other pax remarked on it as well. I searched the ship at 3 am two nights in a row before I figured out what it was. I hope your at least not dealing with that.

Incidentally, I'm booked in a CS on Infinity next year and already switched from one room to the other because I saw pictures with the window washing ladder in front of it. For all I know, it was simply left in that spot after it was used one day and when I board the ship it will be in front of my windows. UGH!!

So my question is couldn't they at least rotate the thing each day so that no one pax had to put up with it?

Anon60

We were on the Summit two years ago in July, and had the same cabin, with the same window washer! We also paid top dollar for the cabin, and the trip. Make sure you file a formal complaint in writing as soon as you get home. We got $1650 in future cruise credits, (a lot more than 10%) which are good for 2 years. We have just cashed them in on a Constellation Cruise in November. Keep in mind that the purser has very little authority to give you a refund, so they will try to appease you - you need to deal with customer service. Celebrity is still our favorite line.

Why don't they wash the windows in port or some other time rather than when sailing :eek: ?

 

This concerns us as we have an aft/balcony for '08 (know it is a way off:( on Millie) but...this seems absurd. Since we will be first time cruisers perhaps there is something that we do not know and so to be fair...could there be a reasonable explanation? The turnarounds, etc.

 

Hope that the OP has a good cruise otherwise. :)

An aft cabin on Millie as a newbie? Most newbies pick midships. Aft is the absolutely best place to be. Once you sit on your veranda and watch a sunset and a sunrise, you will be hooked! We are in an aft cabin on the Constellation - can't wait.

Does anyone have a picture of the window washing machine?

As it happens, DH just resized the pictures for me, so here they are - as seen from cabin 8063 and its balcony.

Wow. Some contraption. I would imagine that 9079 and 9081 would have the same obstructed view, as it looks like a cage on top.

Thanks for the close up pictures. I did see a picture of it at a distance too.

Anon60,

Thanks for the info and the photos. We booked this cabin for a Sept Hawaii cruise. We thought it would be safe because we've been in 8063 on the Connie and that was a great cabin. Our cruise is pretty much full, so I don't know if we'll be able to switch to another cabin or not. We've contacted Captains Club and customer service, and no one we've spoken with have any information about this being an obstructed cabin. I guess we'll see how things develop.

Bob P.

Hey ddonald!

We are leaving on the Summit Sept. 14th from Vancouver!

How was the weather? I'm just wondering what to take as far a clothes!

 

Firinggirl

Come on over to our roll call for this cruise & sign up for Cruise Critic meet & great...yep not much time left before our cruise...counting the days:D