Update - Water Pitchers (jugs) being withdrawn from rooms

[uktog]

Last week I posted a review re Equinox and I highlighted a number of issues in it. We contacted X about them and I am pleased to say they have responded very promptly and professionally to them and as far as I am concerned, for us the matter is now closed.

 

However, future cruisers may like to know that water pitchers (jugs) have been or about to be removed from rooms, though my comments about this have been noted so if others have views in favour or against this step you may want to let X know these as an internal review of the decision is underway. I have appended the response below - as you can see it is as expected economics.

 

I note your disappointment that you were not provided water in your suite throughout the cruise. Following guest feedback and in view of the current economic and global climate Celebrity Cruises have made a number of changes to the facilities and services onboard. These have included the removal of little used services and unecessary wastage, however these should certainly not have been at a cost to the levels of service we are proud to provide to our guests. Accordingly I genuinely regret your disappointment in this regard and would like to assure you that your specific comments have been passed to the appropriate management staff for their internal review.

[flashdog_1]

Thanks for reporting this. We were recently cruising on another line and it was my DD's first time on that line. First thing she noticed was that there was no water pitcher! Now I'll have to tell her that she should not expect one on X either! Thanks again.

 

Are they still handing out champagne upon boarding? That just ended on the other cruiseline that had been doing it for a little more than a year.

[eandj]

Yes champagne or mimosas (oj and champagne) on embarkation. Also cold washcloths, water or punch as you reboard from a port if it's warm.

 

If you ask your steward he/she will have a pitcher in your room.

[dmk]

This issue of no water pitchers in the room has been in effect since our first trip on the Solstice last December.

I asked our steward if he may be able to provide us water non the less. He kindly gave us water every day.

Thanks, Cruise Critic, for those who advised us to do this:)

[uktog]

That was indeed the case, however the position now (and that which I raised) is that requests are now not able to be met. Exceptionally some stewards are making the effort to meet the requests but they do not have enough equipment to do so for all the requests they receive as the pitchers/jugs have been withdrawn from the ships. Coffee flasks are being reused by some - which it has been reported has tastes of the coffee in the water

[sandygal]

We are going on our first Celebrity cruise (after ten cruises on other lines), and we are really looking forward to it. I was curious if the water in the pitcher is special filtered water? I've always just used water from the tap and ice from the bucket. Is there an ice bucket in the room? I guess I'm wondering how special the water pitcher is? :)

[dmk]

That was indeed the case, however the position now (and that which I raised) is that requests are now not able to be met. Exceptionally some stewards are making the effort to meet the requests but they do not have enough equipment to do so for all the requests they receive as the pitchers/jugs have been withdrawn from the ships. Coffee flasks are being reused by some - which it has been reported has tastes of the coffee in the water

 

Yes, it was a metal coffee urn, very similiar looking to the water pitchers.

There was absolutely no taste of coffee.

[greeneg]

I have no problem with the water pitcher either way since I've always found the tap water to be fine. The ice bucket, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter since I do have to have my ice.........hopefully, that is not a problem.

[FinelyCruising]

Ed, ice buckets are still there. ;)

[mferranti]

We had the same style water pitcher & ice bucket as on every other X cruise we've taken — without asking for it — on the Mercury cruise we disembarked from yesterday.

[GITC]

Ed, ice buckets are still there. ;)

Albeit incredibly under-sized.

[elvnga]

 

I note your disappointment that you were not provided water in your suite throughout the cruise. Following guest feedback and in view of the current economic and global climate Celebrity Cruises have made a number of changes to the facilities and services onboard. These have included the removal of little used services and unecessary wastage, however these should certainly not have been at a cost to the levels of service we are proud to provide to our guests. Accordingly I genuinely regret your disappointment in this regard and would like to assure you that your specific comments have been passed to the appropriate management staff for their internal review.

 

 

This is nuts. It is just a way to try and get people to buy bottled water which is actually quite a bit worse for the climate. The use of refillable pitchers filled with reverse osmosis water taken from the sea and ultimately returned to it is clearly the better enviornmental option. In March I asked my steward about the lack of the pitcher and he told me it was not good to drink and I should buy bottled water. Needless to say I did not do so. On the TA in December I brought a nalgene bottle and filled it my self upstairs. That is clearly not consistent with a high level of service, but rather with being nickled and dimed to death.

[sloopsailor]

This is nuts. It is just a way to try and get people to buy bottled water which is actually quite a bit worse for the climate. The use of refillable pitchers filled with reverse osmosis water taken from the sea and ultimately returned to it is clearly the better enviornmental option. In March I asked my steward about the lack of the pitcher and he told me it was not good to drink and I should buy bottled water. Needless to say I did not do so. On the TA in December I brought a nalgene bottle and filled it my self upstairs. That is clearly not consistent with a high level of service, but rather with being nickled and dimed to death.

 

I guess I'm not ready to condem the cruiseline for "just a way to try and get people to buy bottled water....." Not everyone is so paranoid to think they are out to get us at every opportunity. We had a water pitcher on the Infinity last year and rarely used it. It was full of water and ice when he first bought it in, but by the time we returned to the room it was just room temperature water, the same thing I could get out of the tap in the sink. Seemed like a waste to me. The tap water I could pour is the same water he put in the pitcher, so what's the big problem with pouring the water yourself? Either way, pitcher or tap, you still have to pour it into the glass yourself.

[cruise47]

We used the water pitcher especially in the morning and evening to take our medication. I hope X would re-think their position on this subject.

[Bridge Maven]

I think it is a big mistake for Celebrity to do this because this is one of the few perks that Celebrity has that other mass market cruise lines do not have.

[SusieV]

What else is going to disappear next? I must admit I'm starting to get a little disappointed at all the cutbacks we've been hearing about over the past year or so.

[eileen & jay]

Last week I posted a review re Equinox and I highlighted a number of issues in it. We contacted X about them and I am pleased to say they have responded very promptly and professionally to them and as far as I am concerned, for us the matter is now closed.

 

However, future cruisers may like to know that water pitchers (jugs) have been or about to be removed from rooms, though my comments about this have been noted so if others have views in favour or against this step you may want to let X know these as an internal review of the decision is underway. I have appended the response below - as you can see it is as expected economics.

 

I note your disappointment that you were not provided water in your suite throughout the cruise. Following guest feedback and in view of the current economic and global climate Celebrity Cruises have made a number of changes to the facilities and services onboard. These have included the removal of little used services and unecessary wastage, however these should certainly not have been at a cost to the levels of service we are proud to provide to our guests. Accordingly I genuinely regret your disappointment in this regard and would like to assure you that your specific comments have been passed to the appropriate management staff for their internal review.

 

 

 

What a disappointment! This was a cabin perk that both DH and I used throughtout the day. Hopefully, they will make it available for passengers upon request.

[outerspaceguy]

What a disappointment! This was a cabin perk that both DH and I used throughtout the day. Hopefully, they will make it available for passengers upon request.

 

I agree! I like the water pitcher.

 

I was on Connie in December, and she still had them then. I'll be on Mercury in April, so I'll see if they have it as well...

[Host Anne]

I agree...I liked the pitcher, too but it has been gone from the S-class ships since their inception well over a year ago. On our recent cruise on Equinox, as long as there was ice in the bucket, tap water was just fine. Had to call for ice just once. Didn't really find it to be a problem as I'm sure the water in the pitcher was tap water, too. Losing the ice bucket would be different issue :)

[wander]

I am a bit puzzled. Is the concern now that you have to walk a few feet further to get to the sink for water? It comes from the same source.

[Bridge Maven]

I can only think of two reasons why Celebrity would discontinue this perk, since it doesn't cost them anything.. One is that they are assigning more cabins to each room steward, and the other is that they are trying to encourage passengers to spend money on items that are in their cabin's honor bar when they are thirsty.

 

It appears that Celebrity has been eliminating a number of perks that don't cost them anything during the past few years because passengers are more likely to spend money on something else to fill the void.

[nodumblond]

Or . . . . you could bring an empty pitcher and ask the steward to keep it filled with ice, which then melts. (Which is what we've been doing for awhile on RCCL.) Problem solved.

 

Maybe they got tired of water being poured down the drain for no good reason?

[librarylady19]

Not a problem in Aquaclass since you receive as much bottled water as you can drink!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I'm recently off the Connie and we had a water pitcher in our room. I make heavy use of the water in the pitcher, so would not like to see it go away.

[Caroldoll]

we wanted to trade all our sodas, beer and liquor for water. Then we didn't do Celebrity for two years. We cruise about 4 times a year. I am hoping this time they will give us bottled water--in lieu of all the alcohol. We cruise CP--water doesn't seem to be a bit thing there, right?