Just off Summit, It needs some fixing!

[trvlcarib]

Just off Summit 9 night cruise 1-07 and must say after 13 X cruises I hope this was just a bad week for the crew. I have never heard "NO" so many times in a cruise. It seemed the crew was nasty and didn't want to please you. Our cabin steward was great but the buffet area and service is a complete joke! The ship is in need for a dry dock. The pool area is getting old. Tiles all out of pool. The common areas were messy, napkins, paper straws laying all over. Carpets in roooms were worn. This is the 1st time we have not book another trip while on board! I wrote a note to the hotel director telling him about a few service issues and they told me this is because of new employees, RCCL employees. Are you kidding me? What kind of answer is that. I heard many other long time X fans with the same complaints. I hope they get it fixed and fixed fast!

[Bisous3]

Greeeeeeeeat. I just booked it for Easter. Please someone say it was just an off week.

Suzanne

[MaryL]

I just got off the Summit on Dec.27th and it was the second time sailing her. She seemed like she was in great shape!

[trvlcarib]

It might have been in great shape but this was the worst service crew I have seen.

[Boo's Mom]

We had a Butler on the Summit last summer...who should not have been a Butler. He might have passed as a mediocre Cabin Attendant.

 

Overall, I saw a serious management issue.

[Johncn]

My family and I just got off Summit the day you got on, and thought the ship was in great shape....the service was excellent. We booked again for next New Year's to Hawaii.

 

Amazing how different people can be in the same place at the same time, and essentially have a completely different experience.

 

I've only been on about six cruises, but this was by far the best staff, and nicest ship.

 

It's going to dry dock for service and some reorganization of public areas at the end of this month, or so I hear.

 

Johncn

[Spf12]

I also was on 1/7/05 9 night Summit and do not share trvl caribs commemts about Summit.Yes thereare a few tiles around the center of the pool yhat need to be repaired ;1 inch square tiles that can be replaced when in dry dock.The service in my opinion was terrific.Our cabin steward,Maria,on deck 6 aft was one of the best we have had in over 17 Celebrity cruises.Our dining room waiter and her assistant couldn't do enough for you and we always were greeted with a pleasant goodmorning,afternoon or evening from the staff.I didn't notice any carpets that were worn although I didn't make it a daily ritual to examine every aspect of the ship.I was having toomuch fun cruising with our family and friends.Food was very good in all restaurants and cafe's.Just a beautiful ship and a fantastic cruise.

[venicecruiser]

trvlcarib - Oh boy........Are you ever gonna get flamed!!!!!! Some of the posters on this board cannot accept that Celebrity can be less than their marketing/advertising makes them out to be. Of course, the same thing is true for EVERY cruiseline and the same thing happens on every CC board!

[Cruisin'Jack]

Is there a schedule, when ships go in drydocks?

[greydog]

Sure, we all look forward to a great cruise, expecially with the expectations from X's buid-up. It seems though that the standards being applied to cruise ship's condition are off calibration. Wouldn't it be reasonable to compare a 3-yr old ship's 'wear and tear', general cleanliness, service to a similar-age 'premium' (4-star?) hotel's condition, service? Compare Century to a 9-yr old hotel's conditions?

 

In these terms, perhaps there would be more balance in expectations and discussion whether they were met on a trip. It seems this type of comparison is already being applied when folks couch their food quality comments in terms of banquet or large catered meal circumstances.

 

Well, my 2-cents. NONETHELESS, some folks (small share thankfully) arrive at the embark with a 'glass half empty' mindset. I used to tilt in that direction myself. Now, I appreciate the opportunity to cruise regularly and have tilted to 'glass half full' attitude. It's great to see other commenters who state ' they've never had a bad cruise' although some may have been superior to others.

 

Just off Century and had a very good trip overall, with enough 'high points' and a few 'middle points'. Believe me, as far as 'staff attitude' goes - I wouldn't last long giving 'service with a smile' if I had to deal regularly with some of the (few) rude and arrogant pax that always have a chip on their shoulder (not a specific reference to this post).

 

I have tried a couple other lines but stick to X - when I see alot of complaint posts, it makes me wonder what's the state of affairs on the majority of ships rated so much lower on broad opinion surveys like Conde Nast. But I do NOT intend to investigate personally.

[volker]

just got off same cruise as you and i cant believe we were on the same ship. when i cruise, idont inspect the tiles at the pool or give the ship a white glove inspection. i guess that is because i cruise to enjoy the experience, not to find something to make the experience miserable. i guess some people cant enjoy themselves unless they can look for something to complain about. BTW crew was friedly, food excellent (except waterfall buffet), cabin steward outstanding.

[Richmond Boy]

I disembarked the same day as "trvlcarib" and I must say that I too strongly disagree with his assessment of the cruise.

 

This was my 11th Celebrity Cruise (hello "Elite"! - lol) and it was easily my best cruise ever (short of not being in Alaska).

 

The crew were excellent, the staff were friendly, the food was great, the entertainment was the best I have seen on board X. With the exception of a problem with my room steward - which was quickly fixed and made up for by senior management - things cruise related were excellent.

 

Now, that said, there were some negative aspects of the cruise which since we seem to be dwelling on the negative I will mention.

 

First Negative - A huge portion of the passengers were old, bitter, and very rude.

 

After this cruise I intend also to bring my motorized vehicle and my 80 pound Golden Retriever on my next cruise since evidently both are now allowed on board X. ;)

 

Second Negative - The intinerary, or should I say "St Lucia"! What a dump. Furthermore, marketing aside, Barbados is a cess pool if you cannot go to the beach. Granted St Martin and St. Thomas are great, however, after my "Perfect Storm" tender ride into St Martin it took me a while to recover enough to enjoy the island. Was it "New Tender Pilot" day or was I just unfortunate to be on a boat that took 20 minutes to tie up at the pier?

The word is also that Guiness Book reps were on hand to verify that 11 cruise ships full of passengers can indeed fit downtown at one time - lol.

 

From my perspective those were the only things that were not great about this cruise. Granted, the ship needs some sprucing up, but overall it is in very good condition.

 

BTW - Tvlcarib, do you live in Boca? hehe

[trvlcarib]

Let me first say I have always been a huge X fan. When you have to wait 20 minutes for a drink around the pool, thats not "being treated famously" as X says they do. I agree it was a rude and nasty bunch of people. I alway use a smile and friendly hello to all staff. However I really grew tired of being told NO, when I asked for something. Asking for things that were not out of the norm. All I was saying was its not the same X as I have come to enjoy. HAL had just as good service last year. I did say our cabin steward was excellent. I don't go around with a white glove but you notice dirty common areas, you do make note of it. I believe I have sailed on X to make a qualified judgement. I am sorry if people are so blind as to not see service is going down hill. Its okay.

[Richmond Boy]

TrvlCarib is right. She/he does have the authority to talk about Celebrity and it is unfortunate that he/she had a bad experience. Mine was great and I assure you my eyes were wide open. It had been 3+ years since my last Celebrity cruise because of the traumatic experience I had on board my cruise immediately after 9/11 when they were dumping cabins (supposedly for $250 each) on San Juan residents. As a result, I was wary booking this cruise, but I am glad I did.

[DocJohnB]

I disembarked the same day as "trvlcarib" and I must say that I too strongly disagree with his assessment of the cruise.

 

Richmond Boy,

 

We cruised the same week as you did but were on the Explorer of the Seas (another story). I do have a question for you though.

 

Did you get the feeling that the Summit was in the parking lot at WalMart while in St. Marteen. Man oh man was that a site to see. Nine major ships in that itty, bitty, little port. Whew.

 

Now to the subject at hand. While in St. Thomas, I ran into a couple of guys off the Summit (who, like me, were avoiding the raindrops while their spouses were shopping). Over a couple of beers we were discussing the Summit vs the Explorer (we had cruised the Summit on your itinerary in November). There thoughts were quite similar to yours. Having a great time. Service, etc. were good to outstanding. Some fellow cruisers were PITA's.

 

As someone mentioned earlier, it is amazing how different people view the same experience.

 

We are diverse cruisers, but Celebrity is what we like best. In fact, while on Explorer, we booked a Mexican Riviera 11 nighter on the Mercury in early November.

[patnjohn]

trvlcarib-I am curious. What did you ask for that they said "NO" to? I never heard that word on my 11night on 10/25.

[waylook]

I was on the same 9 night cruise. We did notice some areas that needed some sprucing up. However, it wasn't anything that could remotely detract from your cruise experience. These ships are so big that different people can have different experiences. Our cabin attendant and his assistant were both outstanding. We were thoroughly taken care of in every way with amazing friendliness that is hard to find. My sister and her husband a deck below and they were not too happy with their room attendant. Our waiter, asst. waiter and sommelier were excellent. The Maitre'D, Shaadi, was exceptional and really took care of us by personally arranging special meals for us every day. He also took the time to talk to us every time we saw him. I did not believe that a maitre'd could do so much before. My sister and her husband particularly appreciated the careful attention at the grill by the pool where the attendant would tenderly grill their buns carefully each day.

[Ma Bell]

:D If you've ever had your buns grilled you know how painful that can be unless it's done tenderly.

[cruising with marti]

:) Ma, you are on top of it today, LOL

 

 

 

Phil

[Bisous3]

I, too , am wondering what exactly you were told "no" to, trvlcarib.

Can you be more specific?

I am glad I'll be sailing after the drydick, even though they mising tiles wouldn't ruin my crusie anyway...

Suzanne<---- 5 minutes south of Boca, via NYC

[pa.cruisers]

Could you please tell me who was the cruise director and if so will he or she be returning after drydock.

 

Thanks for your help!

[MaryL]

It was Don Fluke during the holidays and I don't know what his schedule is.

[AFT_LOVER]

JWilliams@rccl.com, and tell him in detail everything that was not "treating anyone famously". You will hear on this.........

[Boo's Mom]

We were told "no"...on the Summit (summer 04)...by our Butler...on several occasions.

 

One that comes to mind right now is when we asked him about switching our dinner table assignment. He gave a grin...and told us that we should call on that ourselves. (This was not how previous Celebrity Bulters had handled our dining reservation requests.

 

Funny thing is..... prior to disembarking, we appropriately and extensively wrote up a comment card(s)...with positive and negative comments. ...comparing this Celebrity experience with our recent Celebrity experiences in the same suite category. We left full names, complete addresses and phone numbers. Hmm...no one ever called or wrote.

 

My impression?.... They didn't really care.

 

Is my experience real...and is the OP's experience real. Mine is...and I have no reason to doubt the OP. Poor management occurs.

 

If I had no prior Celebrity experiences, I would not have thought to comment on any of these issues. But, we have sailed on several other Celebrity ships...and we experienced the excellence first hand....thus, having something to compare the Summit with....

 

Have a good day ~ :rolleyes:

[L11]

Waylook, glad to know Shaadi is still there. He was our Matre d' a year or so ago when we were on Summit and he was just delightful!

 

Linda