What Should We Expect from Celebrity Cruises?

I am starting this thread as a response to another thread. In what ways do you believe Celebrity Cruises, the Official poster for Celebrity Cruises, can be most helpful as a participant in this forum? What have they done that has been most helpful? What could the do in the future to be even more helpful? What can we as Celebrity customers provide via Cruise Critic that will assist Celebrity Cruises (the poster) in communicating concerns and ideas to Celebrity Cruises(the company)?

My hope is that this will be a helpful thread in an attempt to assist Celebrity Cruises (the poster) to define how they can best serve the interests of posters. Although these threads have a life of their own and I cannot censor what people say, I hope we can keep this complaint free and focus on ideas to improve communication and the sharing of ideas on Cruise Critic.

Celebrity Cruises has indicated that they will participate in this thread. Could become a helpful dialogue.

I will cut & paste my reply here from the other topic where this came up...

== snip ==

Originally Posted by Celebrity Cruises

This is correct, and is very confusing as to what Cruise Critic wants and expects from us on here, but we try. [/Quote]

 

 

I don't know what Cruise Critic (the Company) wants...

 

But as a Celebrity Cruiser / Customer and Cruise Critic Poster...

 

I appreciate the fact that you... (in this case the royal you = Celebrity) monitors this website.

 

Although, I do realize (some I suppose don't) that YOU are but one person / rep of the Co working in their Social Media sector

 

So YOU (one person) don't necessarily have all the answers, you merely are monitoring this Discussion Board on behalf of the company... And providing basic info / rerouting to others who may have the answers

 

In the same way that a Co Receptionist, or Telephone Operator, reroutes concerns

 

If THOSE PEOPLE (Departments) don't respond... Then it is not YOU who is at fault

 

The old "Don't shoot the messanger" theory

 

== end ==

 

 

From what I have seen to date, I think that you, CC Member CELEBRITY CRUISES are active on this Discussion Board and do a good job fielding questions and routing CC Members to those they need to talk to / work with. As well as providing the CC Members with general info / Announcements about the company

 

Cheers!

Thank you both,

We look forward to reading and participating in this thread.

Hi Everyone,

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not asking for much. All I hope for, is to be kept informed in the latest Celebrity news. Everything else is a bonus.

Personally, I think some member expectations are too high, and should ideally respect that that the individual is one person, and likely passes our insights to others within the Marketing team.

I think it's wonderful that Celebrity has been kind enough to create this role, as they clearly appreciate our insights. Thanks to the Celebrity rep who participates, and for everything you do for our community !

Hi Everyone,

 

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not asking for much. All I hope for, is to be kept informed in the latest Celebrity news. Everything else is a bonus.

 

Personally, I think some member expectations are too high, and should ideally respect that that the individual is one person, and likely passes our insights to others within the Marketing team.

 

I think it's wonderful that Celebrity has been kind enough to create this role, as they clearly appreciate our insights. Thanks to the Celebrity rep who participates, and for everything you do for our community !

Hi Andy, in the first post in this thread, it says to hopefully keep it

complaint free. So If I have a question about an issue, that would be

considered a complaint.......not sure how The Celebrity official can help

with a problem if we are not supposed to ask....

I think its a good way to ensure that "we" the people get heard.

I don't expect the Celebrity Cruises Social Media designate to report back/fix every complaint or gripe.

BUT if complaints on WIFI (for example) are trending here..... then I think that's an issue he/she can take back to celebrity to say, "people are willing to pay for WIFI but they want reliable service - how can we fix it/make it better.

Another example .... numerous complaints here on the X website. I'd expect the Celebrity Cruises Social Media designate to report back and say, "our consumers are getting fed up - we need to do something to resolve our web issues".

Basically, my hope is that he/she looks for trends/issues and then reports back so our collective voice is heard.

Hi Andy, in the first post in this thread, it says to hopefully keep it

complaint free. So If I have a question about an issue, that would be

considered a complaint.......not sure how The Celebrity official can help

with a problem if we are not supposed to ask....

If you can email us at concerns@celebrity.com, we can try.

Hi Andy, in the first post in this thread, it says to hopefully keep it

complaint free. So If I have a question about an issue, that would be

considered a complaint.......not sure how The Celebrity official can help

with a problem if we are not supposed to ask....

Hi Lois,

I think what Orator meant (if not, hopefully he will correct me) is to try and keep this thread complaint free.

As for other threads with concerns, the best method is to email Celebrity directly - to the address Celebrity just posted. Outside of that, I totally understand that we all get frustrated at times. Believe me, I get frustrated too. I've been through a crazy few days with my next cruise booking. Spent tons of time on the phone, and I've gotten nowhere. At any rate, it's perfectly ok to express our concerns. We are all very passionate about the brand, but I'd sincerely hope that everyone will be kind to this individual.

As I always say... a little kindness goes a long way.

Andy:

You are correct. Realizing that these threads often become fertile ground for people to complain about the negatives, I wanted to try to direct discussion to the current and possible future role of Celebrity Cruises on Cruise Critic. I'm certain that Celebrity Cruises already knows about website and customer service issues. What might be useful to them is to read comments about how they may play a more useful role in assisting the Celebrity passenger. Also important for posters to understand the nature of their position.

I am saving any comments for later.

I think the primordial role for the Celebrity Cruises representative on Cruise Critic is to monitor the forum and to report to officials of the cruise line any trend setting issues that show up and to keep us informed of any actions Celebrity will take to try and settle such issues. I for one appreciate the cruise line's participation and monitoring of this forum. It shows that it is sensitive to the wishes, needs and desires of it's guests.

I appreciate the clarity offered and am relieved when there is intervention when someone has a problem that is not being solved through other channels.

So..I expect what is being done already and appreciate it. Much better than when we would spend days not knowing the answer to a question.

I am starting this thread as a response to another thread. In what ways do you believe Celebrity Cruises, the Official poster for Celebrity Cruises, can be most helpful as a participant in this forum? What have they done that has been most helpful? What could the do in the future to be even more helpful? What can we as Celebrity customers provide via Cruise Critic that will assist Celebrity Cruises (the poster) in communicating concerns and ideas to Celebrity Cruises(the company)?

My hope is that this will be a helpful thread in an attempt to assist Celebrity Cruises (the poster) to define how they can best serve the interests of posters. Although these threads have a life of their own and I cannot censor what people say, I hope we can keep this complaint free and focus on ideas to improve communication and the sharing of ideas on Cruise Critic.

Celebrity Cruises has indicated that they will participate in this thread. Could become a helpful dialogue.

I read the title and, after reading a number of other threads about the changes - and having only had one year away from Celebrity in the last 4 - my answer is "Who knows?" Things seem to be changing quite quickly. Only they know ----

I read the title and, after reading a number of other threads about the changes - and having only had one year away from Celebrity in the last 4 - my answer is "Who knows?" Things seem to be changing quite quickly. Only they know ----

This thread is not specifically about Celebrity Cruises the Company but about what the Poster Celebrity Cruises can help us with, at least that's what I understood. Is that right Orator?

One of the questions in Orator's original post, re: CelebrityCruises, was:

"What have they done that has been most helpful?"

My answer is based on a specific example:

A couple of months ago, I was doing research for my upcoming Summit to Bermuda cruise (which was fabuluous -- CC review is pending). Someone on an earlier cruise had posted a flyer from the ship, advertising an "All-In" promo. The fine print in the flyer said that it only applied to cruises booked onboard, through 8/31/14. Well, I found that very odd, since ours was the last cruise of Summit's Bermuda season -- but the promo only lasted through our first day onboard. So, I asked CelebrityCruises if they could find out if that promo would be extended for the duration of our cruise. They came back with an affirmative answer, that the "All-In" promo would be extended for that week. When we saw the Future Cruise Consultant on Summit, he confirmed that information. Needless to say, we took advantage of the "All-In" promo, and booked another cruise to Bermuda, for next May! Thank you, CelebrityCruises! :)

I would appreciate postings from "Celebrity Cruises" when questions come up on policy....or really undocumented policy....for example combinability of stockholder credit with the on board sales "combinable with one other offer". In this case one side (on-board sales) says its combinable with one other offer...and the other side (stockholder benefits) says no, not combinable and I'm not sure that's a consistent answer either. There are other areas too....and some CC threads get longer and longer as people guess what the policy is or relate war stories because no one knows the policy, if there is one.

Another policy question...if you want a different cabin class after final payment and the price of that cabin is less or equal to what you have paid, can you request moving to the now cheaper cabin (not a discussion of refunds, just about whether you can move to a cabin that costs less than you paid for your cabin.

It would be very helpful in these cases if "celebrity cruises" would find out the policy and post it. IMHO, based on reading here and actual experience,, there are some "made up on the ship at the time" policy decisions and "if you don't like the first answer when you call, just call again and someone else may give you a different answer" type of policy decisions.

I would like to see Celebrity Cruises giving updates on things like the various dining changes experimentally introduced on Summit this year (Elite breakfast, buffet baskets etc.). Are they going to be permanent and rolled out to other ships, if so when?

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I think that "What should we expect from Celebrity Cruises" is misleading...perhaps Celebrity Cruises should be in quotes or maybe the title can be changed to "What should we expect from Celebrity Cruises' Cruise Critic Representative"

Otherwise, if I were a newbie, I'd be looking at this thread to learn about basic information, e.g. laundry, dining options, special services, etc.

A big thanks to "Celebrity Cruises" for monitoring this forum and responding to concerns raised and questions asked by our members.

This thread is not specifically about Celebrity Cruises the Company but about what the Poster Celebrity Cruises can help us with, at least that's what I understood. Is that right Orator?

You are correct.

Let me try to put it another way since some say they don't understand the purpose. Let's say you're creating a job description for the poster CelebrityCruises: what would you include in that description?

I don't think this thread is intended as a suggestion box. One need only scan the thread titles to get a sense of current trends. (I find the speculation about intent of the thread to be rather amusing.)

I would hope that the poster known as Celebrity Cruises would be here to clear up confusion and misinformation.

Example. Our first cruise was concurrent with the reclassification of Blu as Smart Casual. Still, there were reports from some ships of men being turned away for not wearing jackets, in spite of Smart Casual being clearly stated on the web site. It caused me no small amount of pre-cruise angst, and I would have welcomed one official source of clarification.

In that same vein, my expectation is that all cruisers' concerns (or accolades) be given equal consideration, regardless of days at sea, accommodations, cruising history, or status. So far, it seems "Celebrity Cruises" is doing so.

Thank you ma'am/sir.

Again, it's obvious Orator (Oracle :p ) didn't start a thread for specific suggestions or complaints. Threads about chair hogs and an additional Captain's Club levels make regular appearances on here.

I've used: contactmichael@celebrity.com and always receive a response. Celebrity Cruises has posted another email address on several threads.

Agreed, this address is positive, and my dealings with the support in that address have been first class!

The issue I referred to above relates to technical support addresses, where no response was received at all, and the fault remained for weeks.

I would agree with the other posters that "Celebrity Cruises" official poster should be both a PR service to provide information but also a customer service function to guide people to someone who can provide resolution to issues.

Examples include:

Provide clarifications on policies when there is confusion on what to expect onboard.

Be the first to post news such as cruise cancellations, port changes (on the main board or on the specific roll call or of course, both), malfunctions, issues. I am not saying they should break the news here, but maybe they point to or provide a link to an official statement.

Announce onboard changes such as new menus, new events, and new opportunities.

Answer questions, and provide emails for travelers with issues not resolved previously, though I also think it is unfortunate they need to do this, it's the 'nature of the beast' for any large corporation.

One other thing I would LOVE to see, is live reports from them on a ship, where new things were happening or being tested. While this is primarily a function of a blog, it would work fine here as well. I now the POV would be skewed, but I think it would be great. First, this would mean they get to do more than type at a computer, and can actually experience the "product". Second, it would be a great way for them to keep the community of diehard cruisers in the know.

I think they do a lot of this already (with maybe the exception of my last thought above).

Finally, as far as the posters who used this thread to provided comments, suggestions and ideas for Celebrity Cruises, the line itself, my suggestion would be to kindly let an officer onboard know your constructive criticism or idea. I have had a number of ideas I've suggested onboard or in the follow-up guest surveys that have actually happened. Whether it was as a results of my suggestion, I have no idea, but I do think they listen. A couple examples:

In 2012 and presumably before you could not access celebrity.com from the onboard wifi, now you can.

As late as April, 2014, security tried to take every sea pass card and scan it for you. In my mind, this would pass germs from person to person so easily. Now (August on Summit) they don't do this, they scan it with a reader.

Sorry for getting off topic, I think this thread was a great idea.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

Hi Everyone,

 

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not asking for much. All I hope for, is to be kept informed in the latest Celebrity news. Everything else is a bonus.

 

Personally, I think some member expectations are too high, and should ideally respect that that the individual is one person, and likely passes our insights to others within the Marketing team.

 

I think it's wonderful that Celebrity has been kind enough to create this role, as they clearly appreciate our insights. Thanks to the Celebrity rep who participates, and for everything you do for our community !

[Disclaimer: I am not going to read all this thread. It has grown too quickly and that is usually a bad sign on Cruise Critic.]

I find it useful that Celebrity Cruises posts news from Celebrity plus any clarifications which may be required.

I hope that Celebrity Cruises passes on insights gained from what other posters say on Cruise Critic. In particular, I hope that these insights include the perspective of those outside North America. I find that Celebrity [the cruise line] sometimes has a poor understanding [or, at least, takes poor account] of these other, rapidly growing, markets especially when rapid decisions are required such as when a cruise is cancelled.

I appreciate the contribution of Celebrity Cruises whose job cannot be easy at times. I do not expect a personal response from Celebrity Cruises. I do not expect fellow posters to abuse Celebrity Cruises.

I would agree with the other posters that "Celebrity Cruises" official poster should be both a PR service to provide information but also a customer service function to guide people to someone who can provide resolution to issues.

 

Examples include:

 

Provide clarifications on policies when there is confusion on what to expect onboard.

 

Be the first to post news such as cruise cancellations, port changes (on the main board or on the specific roll call or of course, both), malfunctions, issues. I am not saying they should break the news here, but maybe they point to or provide a link to an official statement.

 

Announce onboard changes such as new menus, new events, and new opportunities.

 

Answer questions, and provide emails for travelers with issues not resolved previously, though I also think it is unfortunate they need to do this, it's the 'nature of the beast' for any large corporation.

It would be nice to have "Celebrity Cruises" routinely do the same here, especially to inform us of changes.

It would be very helpful to know what changes to expect before booking a cruise instead of being surprised after boarding the ship to discover that something we were expecting, that was always routinely provided on Celebrity cruises in the past, has been discontinued or replaced.

Hi Everyone,

 

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not asking for much. All I hope for, is to be kept informed in the latest Celebrity news. Everything else is a bonus.

 

Personally, I think some member expectations are too high, and should ideally respect that that the individual is one person, and likely passes our insights to others within the Marketing team.

 

I think it's wonderful that Celebrity has been kind enough to create this role, as they clearly appreciate our insights. Thanks to the Celebrity rep who participates, and for everything you do for our community !

I agree with this 100 percent. Since " Celebrity Cruises" is monitoring this, as well as other travel websites , I would hate to see him put into a situation where expectations are too high. This is not a Celebrity website and I can see that some people are already expecting an answer to every concern expressed here.

Personally, I think it's probably better if this individual remains a surprise poster, responding when and if he believes he has a solution to a problem.