Celebrity Cruises Discrimination?

[Desertbelle]

Poor decision making on Carnival's part to have her continue to service your cabin. I would have been so uncomfortable knowing she was in my cabin. Their lack of action cost them your future business.

We are not big at complaining, we choose to make the best of difficult situations while traveling because it's just too expensive and the time is so valuable that we don't want to waste any of it feeling angry and upset. But, we do talk with our money, and if the service is bad, with cruises, restaurants, etc., we don't go back and I take every occasion to let people know about our bad experience. Certainly poor decision making on Carnival's part!

[Bridge Maven]

We are not big at complaining, we choose to make the best of difficult situations while traveling because it's just too expensive and the time is so valuable that we don't want to waste any of it feeling angry and upset. But, we do talk with our money, and if the service is bad, with cruises, restaurants, etc., we don't go back and I take every occasion to let people know about our bad experience. Certainly poor decision making on Carnival's part!

 

Desertbelle - I am sorry that you had such a bad experience. They say that a company is only as good as its weakest link, and this is a perfect example of it. Even if this cabin steward was not typical of people that work for Carnival this "weak link" cost them a customer.

[laurenvit]

to the OP, i am very sorry you had that experience.

 

to the rest of the people in the pile-on, asking what more the OP could ask for, i suspect a formal apology from Celebrity would go a long way in clearing up this situation. in my experience, no issues are really involved if it is kept quiet at the lowest levels.

[nicebbern]

Sorry to hear about your negative experience with Celebrity. It sounds to me as if the experience did not give you the cruise experience you were expecting.

I know for myself, I have this vision of what my cruise will be like and I base this from my past cruise experiences. So far I have had nothing but wonderful cruise experiences with Celebrity with wonderful attendants that have gone above & beyond the call of duty. But that doesn't mean that everything is perfect in an imperfect world.

I have also experienced situations in life that I have had a hard time wrapping my brain around, wondering how people can act so disrespectful, without consideration towards another's feelings. Sometimes it would take me awhile to shake those feelings I experienced off, and sometimes not at all. I just hope that you can find someway to move forward.

I am glad that you were able to address the problem and that you took some action to address it.

We will be in AQ on the Summit, what was your stateroom # & attendant's name?

[c-legs]

To the OP :Another angle: at booking time, request ''bed together'' ( you or your travel agent can check from time to time that this request sticks in the file ) and you will not an issue to start with

 

Yet another angle: every one knows the crew itself is populated with varying number of efficient, social, courteous and engaging gay men and women. I suggest ''discrimination'', as inferred , is perhaps an innacurate description of whatever irritated you.

 

I. like other posters, am glad you 1/ encountered a problem & 2/ it was resolved with apparent haste and satisfactorily.

 

cheers and thank you for sharing your views

[6andy6]

We also have too many friends, including many in our Perry Grant reunion cruises, who would disagree in the strongest terms with the OP.

 

Pmsl. Both you and the post immediately above yours has to be hilarious.

So what! Just because you haven't experienced it it doesn't mean it doesn't go

On.

 

And I think it's extremely sad and reflective of you that you don't think it could happen.

 

You realise that it does only take one person to discriminate. And so what they have FOD meetings...doesn't mean EVERYBODY on the ship agrees with your life style. Many of these crew members come from very religious (often strict catholic) countries. You don't think for a moment that there isn't someone in 2000 crew that wouldn't have a problem in those circumstances. And that somewhere such attitudes may surface.

[NYCruisers10019]

to the OP, i am very sorry you had that experience.

 

to the rest of the people in the pile-on, asking what more the OP could ask for, i suspect a formal apology from Celebrity would go a long way in clearing up this situation. in my experience, no issues are really involved if it is kept quiet at the lowest levels.

 

There have been some curious responses to my original post. To paraphrase a few:

 

• I must be aggrandizing my experiences, since you have never experienced discrimination on this cruise line.
  
• The problem was resolved and should never be spoken of, since a different stateroom attendant was assigned to us.
  
• I cannot be taken seriously, since I created a new [second] CC account today, specifically to describe this situation.
  
• I am not from the west coast, where people are more tolerant of a perceived slight.
  

 

In response to these criticisms, I would like to respectfully note the following:

 

While it is distasteful for any of us to believe that discrimination still exists in 2012, it is our responsibility to identify it when it occurs -- even at the risk of being labeled a liar, complainer, or gripey New Yorker.

 

As for my expectations of Celebrity: as I noted in the OP, there is a continued need for cultural sensitivity training. This is what I would like to see Celebrity corporate address. An acknowledgement of the situation and an apology from Celebrity would be nice.

 

The manager that we spoke with onboard suggested that we might be more comfortable on an all-gay cruise. While certainly an option, we reserve the right to select the cruise of our choice.

 

I look forward to a time when the LGBT mixers (aka "Friends of Dorothy") can be published in the Dailies, and when I will no longer have to speak with supervisors to insist that I receive the same rights as everyone else.

[doctork]

OP, I am really sorry you had that bad experience. I haven't sailed on Celebrity yet (we're booked for early next year), but I think in every aspect of the hospitality industry, all guests should be treated with warmth and respect. That does not include "cornering" guests who complain either!

 

I find it especially unfortunate that the manager you spoke with felt that your best alternative is to book an all-gay cruise. There were at least two bad apples on that cruise!

 

All of us are adversely affected by such discrimination. If we are straight we have LGBT friends and family members that we wouldn't want treated that way. While I am glad that you were assigned a better steward, I think an apology from the corporate office of Celebrity would be a gracious gesture, and I would hope that diversity training is reinforced so that any bad apples can be improved or sent elsewhere.

 

It's good news that there are other posters who have not been discriminated against, and I am relieved that Celebrity is generally L & G friendly, but it's still too bad OP had such an experience.

[uktog]

 

I look forward to a time when the LGBT mixers (aka "Friends of Dorothy") can be published in the Dailies, and when I will no longer have to speak with supervisors to insist that I receive the same rights as everyone else.

 

I am sorry to hear your experience was not as it should have been on Celebrity.

Notifications of meetings used to be published in the dailies, but because so many groups were meeting/asked to be included, Celebrity placed details of all group meetings on a board beside guest relations and highlight in the Daily on Day One that this is what they are doing.

 

That board was certainly very visible and had Friends of Dorothy details on it when I was on Summit last month.

 

If the supervisor was making the kind of suggestions you report, then the training needs to focus at that level if not higher to ensure there is understanding across all levels in the operation. As I understood it, they do have programmes that are used regularly so maybe some folks are overdue a retrain

[gkny]

My wife who past away and I had a similar circumstance but not from the crew. My wife is African American and I'm white and we had many stares from the other passengers. Some would not even talk to us. I find now that there are so many inter racial marriages on ships which is great. The crew and the service couldn't be better.

[dkjretired]

There have been some curious responses to my original post. To paraphrase a few:

 

• I must be aggrandizing my experiences, since you have never experienced discrimination on this cruise line.
  
• The problem was resolved and should never be spoken of, since a different stateroom attendant was assigned to us.
  
• I cannot be taken seriously, since I created a new [second] CC account today, specifically to describe this situation.
  
• I am not from the west coast, where people are more tolerant of a perceived slight.
  

 

In response to these criticisms, I would like to respectfully note the following:

 

While it is distasteful for any of us to believe that discrimination still exists in 2012, it is our responsibility to identify it when it occurs -- even at the risk of being labeled a liar, complainer, or gripey New Yorker.

 

As for my expectations of Celebrity: as I noted in the OP, there is a continued need for cultural sensitivity training. This is what I would like to see Celebrity corporate address. An acknowledgement of the situation and an apology from Celebrity would be nice.

 

The manager that we spoke with onboard suggested that we might be more comfortable on an all-gay cruise. While certainly an option, we reserve the right to select the cruise of our choice.

 

I look forward to a time when the LGBT mixers (aka "Friends of Dorothy") can be published in the Dailies, and when I will no longer have to speak with supervisors to insist that I receive the same rights as everyone else.

 

FOD events had always been published in the dailies up until a couple of years ago when Celebrity made a decision to eliminate publishing various types of events. This included religious meetings such as church services, etc. There were many discussions on this board at the time about this policy. Point is they did not single out FOD.

 

As someone who has been on this board probably longer than anyone currently posting, I have heard nothing but good things about Celebrity's handling of gays on the ships. They appear to be one of the most popular cruise lines for charters, etc. Your complaint is opposite of what has been posted on this board in the past.

[simon stingray]

There have been some curious responses to my original post. To paraphrase a few:

 

• 
   
  
• The problem was resolved and should never be spoken of, since a different stateroom attendant was assigned to us.
   
  

 

 

 

The manager that we spoke with onboard suggested that we might be more comfortable on an all-gay cruise.

 

 

But HAS the problem been resolved?

 

Simply replacing the stateroom attendant because he/she does not like or approve of gay people so that he/she does not have to deal with them is unacceptable.

 

People with such prejudices (wether based on race/religion or sexuality) should not be employed by Celebrity.

 

I would be sending a detailed letter to Celebrity headquarters asking for their response to your poor experience and if THEY would be more comfortable if you only took all-gay cruises.

[jacketwatch]

My partner and I just returned from the July 8 sailing of the Celebrity Summit to Bermuda, where we were in Aqua Class. Upon arrival, our stateroom attendant refused to move the beds together.

 

Although he eagerly took our tip, he refused to shake our hands or make eye contact. Coupled with his brusque and disputatious attitude, it quickly became clear that he would not be helping us. We were forced to request management intervention to switch to a different stateroom attendant, before the ship even sailed.

 

This was a embarrassing and demoralizing experience. However, this was only the first in what was a pattern of our marginalization by certain members of the Celebrity Cruises staff, throughout the cruise.

 

As one senior staff member candidly told us, it was possible that the social attitudes of some crew members' native cultures made their intolerance toward the LGBT community not only possible, but likely.

 

We have not yet felt that Celebrity Cruises takes these recent events seriously. We are hopeful that they will quickly contact us with assurances that diversity training will be provided to the Celebrity employees.

 

Until this situation is resolved, we regrettably cannot recommend Celebrity Cruises, based upon the discrimination that we recently encountered aboard the Celebrity Summit.

 

 

I am sorry to hear of your bad experience. I do think it was atypical of the CS ethic Celebrity has for their guests. If what the senior staffer said above is true and I have no reason to think otherwise then there seems to be an unspoken acceptance of these attitudes which needs to be addressed and fast. If they have bias against gays then let them show that on their on their own time but on work time, well they are getting paid to do otherwise. JM2C.

[aquaclass]

OK, I am really trying to understand this.

 

My partner and I just returned from the July 8 sailing of the Celebrity Summit to Bermuda, where we were in Aqua Class (excellent choice). Upon arrival, our stateroom attendant refused to move the beds together. When you registered , filled out your express pass, etc did you choose the option of having the beds together or did you choose to keep them apart only to ask for them together upon arrival, and want this done immediately?

 

Although he eagerly took our tip, he refused to shake our hands or make eye contact. Coupled with his brusque and disputatious attitude, it quickly became clear that he would not be helping us. We were forced to request management intervention to switch to a different stateroom attendant, before the ship even sailed. Sounds like management understood your problem and a solution was found before the ship even sailed.

 

This was a embarrassing and demoralizing experience. However, this was only the first in what was a pattern of our marginalization by certain members of the Celebrity Cruises staff, throughout the cruise.

 

As one senior staff member candidly told us, it was possible that the social attitudes of some crew members' native cultures made their intolerance toward the LGBT community not only possible, but likely. It is true that not every culture is as advanced as we are. At the same time, other cultures would say that about us.

 

We have not yet felt that Celebrity Cruises takes these recent events seriously sounds like they did take it seriously. We are hopeful that they will quickly contact us with assurances that diversity training will be provided to the Celebrity employees.

 

Until this situation is resolved again it sounds like it was resolved before you sailed, we regrettably cannot recommend Celebrity Cruises, based upon the discrimination that we recently encountered aboard the Celebrity Summit.

[NYCruisers10019]

FOD events had always been published in the dailies up until a couple of years ago when Celebrity made a decision to eliminate publishing various types of events. This included religious meetings such as church services, etc. There were many discussions on this board at the time about this policy. Point is they did not single out FOD.

 

As someone who has been on this board probably longer than anyone currently posting, I have heard nothing but good things about Celebrity's handling of gays on the ships. They appear to be one of the most popular cruise lines for charters, etc. Your complaint is opposite of what has been posted on this board in the past.

 

There actually were religious service listings and "Friends of Bill W." listings in the dailies as recently as last week. The "Friends of Dorothy" moniker is a ridiculous anachronism, but that is not what any of this is about.

 

Again--I am thrilled that most people have never had any problem with a single crew member aboard Celebrity. This is, in fact, why we booked with them.

 

It really makes no difference if my experience with a few insensitive crew members is the opposite of what has been posted on this board in the past. It was my experience, and I am entitled to share it. I honestly have to question the motives of those who would minimize my experience.

 

I do hope that this was an isolated incident. I hope that nobody ever has to go through it again.

 

By the way, many other aspects of the cruise were great. Look for my upcoming posting (under a different CC handle, which I have had for over 10 years).

[dkjretired]

There actually were religious service listings and "Friends of Bill W." listings in the dailies as recently as last week. The "Friends of Dorothy" moniker is a ridiculous anachronism, but that is not what any of this is about.

 

Again--I am thrilled that most people have never had any problem with a single crew member aboard Celebrity. This is, in fact, why we booked with them.

 

It really makes no difference if my experience with a few insensitive crew members is the opposite of what has been posted on this board in the past. It was my experience, and I am entitled to share it. I honestly have to question the motives of those who would minimize my experience.

 

I do hope that this was an isolated incident. I hope that nobody ever has to go through it again.

 

By the way, many other aspects of the cruise were great. Look for my upcoming posting (under a different CC handle, which I have had for over 10 years).

 

I am not minimizing your experience only passing on the info that Celebrity from what I have read, has a stellar reputation among cruise lines. Since you have not given any other examples of poor behavior, I will give my opinion that this was an experience with one person and not the policy of the cruise line The individual who told you it may be because of the employees influence in his home land was being honest and deserves credit for what he said. Are you aware of the cruise line several years ago with a charter that was refused entry to Grand Cayman because it was a gay charter. How about the two men arrested recently for having sex on their balcony in one of the islands. Also, within the past month there was another gay charter that was refused docking because of the group.

 

I also don't understand why you created another name to post on this board. Seems that if you have been on this board for years you were looking for comments where people might call you a troll. Sorry, credibility just went down for me. For that reason, I'm done with this thread.

 

Also, Friends of Bill and religious meetings were removed from the dailies a couple of years ago. Perhaps they are back by popular demand. I do however see a big difference in FOD vs FOB, Friends of Bill addresses a medical need.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I thought FoD was a group of women meeting

[richsea]

Sorry for the problems that you experienced on Summit, but glad that they were taken care of in a timely manner. However, if you still think that there is a larger problem with Celebrity's training, then you should definitely put your concerns in writing to them.

I look forward to your review of your cruise under your original CC name. BTW, what is it, & why did you feel that you should post this under a different handle?

[ariawoman]

The manager that we spoke with onboard suggested that we might be more comfortable on an all-gay cruise. While certainly an option, we reserve the right to select the cruise of our choice.

 

I look forward to a time when the LGBT mixers (aka "Friends of Dorothy") can be published in the Dailies, and when I will no longer have to speak with supervisors to insist that I receive the same rights as everyone else.

 

Wow I think I'd be more offended by this than everything else. To suggest that you might find an entirely LGBT cruise better is well, another form of discrimination in my book.

 

You have the right to book any cruise you wish, and I dont see why they shouldn't expect the service to be any different on that cruise than any other cruise.

 

We've come a long way, but i guess we aren't quite there yet as a whole. Here's hoping it gets there soon for those in the LGBT community.

[Bundles917]

I and my partner took two Pied Piper sailings on Summit to Bermuda. While the ship was not charted we were part of a small group of gay travelers under the auspices of Pied Piper. Fortunately we did not experience any known dissent from the crew of either sailing.

 

As to a poor stateroom attendant: yes, Celebrity does have them. On an Eclipse cruise our attendant was less than Motel 6 quality. After our complaints to Guests Services we believed the attendant retaliated by slashing all of our luggage tags from our bags upon departure. Too much of a coincidence that two tags per bag (equaling six tags in all) were cut off in the same exact manner. We had to search for our bags onshore.

[YOW]

I generally caution against painting broad strokes with the term "discrimination." Having said that...

 

The manager that we spoke with onboard suggested that we might be more comfortable on an all-gay cruise. While certainly an option, we reserve the right to select the cruise of our choice.

 

Wow I think I'd be more offended by this than everything else. To suggest that you might find an entirely LGBT cruise better is well, another form of discrimination in my book.

 

You have the right to book any cruise you wish, and I dont see why they shouldn't expect the service to be any different on that cruise than any other cruise.

 

We've come a long way, but i guess we aren't quite there yet as a whole. Here's hoping it gets there soon for those in the LGBT community.

 

Hear hear!

 

Would the manager have suggested to a passenger that they might be more comfortable on an all-Asian cruise, an all-Jewish cruise, or an all-blonde cruise?

[Schplinky]

I'm puzzled as to why you would feel the need to create a new screen name for this thread. If you expect to be treated consistently by Celebrity staff and the rest of the world in general, it seems a bit odd to me that you create this alias for this post and, one presumes, retain another moniker. Why? Is your other screen name more closeted? If you truly are a long-term poster, folks would be able to weigh your current gripes against the tone of your other posts. This seems very odd to me.

[MaxTexada]

Everyone knows best, don't they?

[NYCruisers10019]

I'm puzzled as to why you would feel the need to create a new screen name for this thread. If you expect to be treated consistently by Celebrity staff and the rest of the world in general, it seems a bit odd to me that you create this alias for this post and, one presumes, retain another moniker. Why? Is your other screen name more closeted? If you truly are a long-term poster, folks would be able to weigh your current gripes against the tone of your other posts. This seems very odd to me.

 

The long answer to your questions:

 

No part of my life is closeted.

 

From my other postings--which over the years have included my name, profession, cities in which I've lived, and so on--it wouldn't be difficult to figure out exactly who I am, should anyone choose to. I would prefer to keep my professional life separate from this potentially inflammatory situation.

 

The short answer is: because I chose to, and I'm glad I did.

 

What, honestly, would I have to gain here? I don't need a free trip or OBC. I'm just hoping that there might be some inquiry into how we were treated by a few isolated crew members, and perhaps a refresher course on dealing with people.

 

Now, no one who reads this will EVER be able to say, "I have never heard of any gay person experiencing anything bad on Celebrity; therefore, your allegations of discrimination cannot be true."

 

You have heard this "Friend of Dorothy" recount his experiences, and he is weary of posting on this topic.

 

*click click click*

[2morecruises]

I'm puzzled as to why you would feel the need to create a new screen name for this thread.

 

Yes this is puzzling ? :confused:

 

BTW, I believe using a second Cruise Critic User Name is not allowed under the Community Guidelines.

 

Have known some users who were "Expelled" when doing this.

 

2MC