A couple of interesting points from Infinity cc<->suite

[iandjm]

Hi Guys.

 

I am still on Infinity at the moment on the trans-canal cruise. I have noticed a couple of intereting things onboard. We are in a sky suite, yet our breakfast room service menu is a cut down version of the one offered in Concierge Class. Also in CC you get the menu of pillows and fresh flowers, both of which you don't get in a suite. Isn't this a bit odd? It seems booking the better staterooms you get less, a bit messed up in my opinion.

 

Secondly I have never been on a ship where the officers seem to blank passengers so much. Even the captain walks past without saying a word to anyone. Its a far cry from the keen polite officers on P&O cruises in the UK. Has anyone else witnessed this?

 

Ian

[mahdnc]

Hi Guys.

 

I am still on Infinity at the moment on the trans-canal cruise. I have noticed a couple of intereting things onboard. We are in a sky suite, yet our breakfast room service menu is a cut down version of the one offered in Concierge Class. Also in CC you get the menu of pillows and fresh flowers, both of which you don't get in a suite. Isn't this a bit odd? It seems booking the better staterooms you get less, a bit messed up in my opinion.

 

Ian

 

We ran into pretty much the same thing on the Horizon several weeks ago as we had a suite booked.

 

Thought that I read a post recently that said that Celebrity was going to address this. Or maybe I was dreaming....

[mkk]

Have not sailed X in a couple years...(partly due to the stand-off-ish attitude of the staff)...X does some things extraordinarily well...(food and the spas are to die for!) but for fun activities..itinerary and just great personal service I would choose others..of the mass market....

We had an X suite years ago to Alaska (before concierge class) and found the butler and room stewards to be fairly efficient but not friendly, outgoing, and no hint of personal service..just going through the motions....too bad really...not surprised about the sky suite vs concierge..X seems to be cheapening....In another year or two..I see them being absorbed into RCCL mode of cruising..not necessarily a bad thing...we were on Mariner last Fall and were very pleasantly suprised.

[42trvl]

Interesting you raise this. We sailed on the Summit twice last year in CC class and it was very nice, but I never quite got the rave reviews about Celebrity and service. I figured, not being experienced cruisers, we just didn't know any better and assumed that the other mass market lines must be really bad if this is considered "premium." But the "coldness" of the officers and other more senior staff always bugged me - a simple nod of the head or smile would be nice as you passed. Guest relations and the concierge couldn't be icier - almost as if the slightest upturn in the corners of their mouths might crack the face...

 

In the meantime, we just got off RCI's Mariner and couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised at how much friendlier the staff was. Guest relations was much quicker and more responsive to concerns/requests. While we had no butler with our suite, we got excellent stateroom service, a couple of little treats and a nice concierge lounge and concierge. Our son wanted to meet the captain, and we had no problem stopping and talking to him. Even with dining room requests, RCI was much more amenable to accommodating us, whereas on Celebrity they made some lame excuse which ended up being a lie and basically waved us off (we just wanted to be seated near other family/travel companions - all reservations cross referenced from a year + ahead of time)

 

I definitely liked the Summit better as a ship and the food, overall, was better. But beyond that, I think Celebrity is a bit overhyped in terms of the service one will receive as well as the type of people who cruise with the line.

 

It will be interesting to see how the merger affects them.

[catmand]

My kids had a sky suite when we sailed Mercury and the butler couldn't have been nicer and more accommodating, especially to our 9 yo grandson. "Rusty" became his new best friend because all he had to do was ask and a pizza would magically appear. All of the staff that we dealt with on a daily basis were friendly, outgoing and fun to interact with. We couldn't have been happier with our wait staff, after one night they knew all of our names! One night we came back to our cabin and our room steward (ess) had gathered some things that were laying around, extra pair of glasses, hat, book and a few other items, took a couple of towels and made what looked just like a person sitting up in our bed reading (pictures on web shots). It scared the heck out of us when we first walked in and then we just had to drag our neighbors in to see this.

There was a welcome aboard with all of the officers on stage and the Captain introducing them, also a toast. Every noon the Captain would read his "notes" and let us know how the day was progressing. Maybe it's just me but that's enough of the officers, I don't need them to be friendly, I just need them doing their job.

[Blazerboy]

I, too, was going to post one of those "No, Celebrity staff are great, and the officers are warm and friendly-yada-yada-yada" posts, but I'm beginning to think perceptions about appropriate dress, tipping, manners, service, food quality, etc. are just to personal to translate to others. If I say the captain was warm and friendly on my last trip on the Constellation, you then say "well, you're an Elite member, so of course he was nice" (I'm not) or that "you must have been in the Penthouse" (I wasn't) He was just nice. Did he share old sea stories? No. Did he do magic tricks? No. Did he smiley brightly upon me? No. No invitation to the captain's table, either. He was well mannered, gracious, thanked me for a compliment on the ship and one of his decisions, and he moved on. That's about as warm and friendly as I need, I guess, so it seemed o.k. to me. :)

 

So the rest of this is ONLY FROM MY PERSPECTIVE!:D

 

I also notice that people from other cultures are comfortable with less facial expression than perhaps we're used to in this country(USA) and some are less forthcoming with emotions, so I don't expect a "howdy-do" with a big grin or the like from every staff member. I also feel that, while it is the room or diningroom staff's duty to do their job professionally, that expecting or requiring them to joke around, or to be "social" and be the equivalent of entertainment is not fair(IMHO), but if that's what a guest wants, the least the passenger can do is be really friendly to them to initiate that level of rapport, so that the professional crew member knows that you "invite" that friendliness, rather than think it overly "familiar" of them. Many people wouldn't welcome a steward or waiter like that. And many from other cultures are not immediately comfortable with that level of (the US version of) friendliness.

 

:D No, I'm not a stick in the mud, or a grump, but I like to be waited on on a cruise, and assume that the person doing the "waiting" is happy and sincere with his/her level of service without making animals out of towels or grinning at me like a trained puppy. I do develop a rapport with staff, I don't ignore them as human beings, I don't act aloof because of some false notion that people serving you don't deserve to be treated with respect. But there are so many other reasons that I'm on a cruise other than interacting with staff or officers, that it doesn't rank up there with anything I think to complain about, unless I recieve really POOR service. And if they do their job unobtrusively, and don't want to interact on a social level, then that's fine, too.:)

[catmand]

Blazerboy, I hope you understand that our interesting bedroom thing was a "towel Person" and not a "towel animal." I just couldn't help thinking your comment was directed at me?

[Blazerboy]

Catmand, no, not at all. :eek:

 

In fact I like playfulness if it makes you (anyone) happy, I was refereing to all those threads of people who complain when they don't get towel animals every night, or the ones that say it "made their cruise, and wouldn't be the same without it, and they won't cruise a line unless.... So my beef was really about thinking that the staff AUTOMATICALLY owe passengers this kind of familiarity, playfullness, whatever, without a.) being invited, i.e. having a good rapport with your grandson, or b.) because they are "staff", and there to amuse passengers in addition to waiting on them. If a staff member reads a situation well, and performs these tasks, so much the better for all.:) But it shouldn't be required.

 

Besides, I'd never intentionally hurt such a nice person as you!:D And us Contra Costans have to stick together!

[smoothdancer]

Perhaps the experience is different on each X ship...

 

I read that the higher level suites do not receive flowers or a pillow menu. I was on the Mercury last month in the royal suite, and well... the flowers in our suite were great!!.... They were in our suite upon arrival and stayed great all week. We were equally happy with the bedding.

 

(If you would like to see...Click on my login in, click on my home page and view the suite pictures to see a picture of the flowers!!)

 

This was our first experience with a butler and I can tell you that he did not simply go through the motions... The service was so over the top... With each formal night he would check in with my husband in the AM, to see what he could press for him... When we came back to our suite he had his entire wardrobe layed out on the bed for him... He seems to watch closely our habits, and adapted to them.. For example he noticed, I guess, that I was only drinking certain soda out of the mini bar... So before I knew it, he removed the soda I did not drink, replacing it with what I did drink... I noticed these suttle offerings everyday on our cruise.. Daily, I can remember saying to my husband "wow, look at this!" We did not request much, but he seemed to figure it out, and educated us on what he wanted to do for us. I did not book the suite for a butler, but after this experience, next time I might just do it on purpose!!

 

I found the entire staff to be freindly towards us. So many times while sitting in a public area, a staff member would approach us and start up a conversation... I did not find them stand-off-ish at all. Another example... We had just, really just, bought a new digital camera. I mentioned to the internet staff member that we were having a time with the camera menu. Well, he gave us a pretty good lesson on all of the menu options on our camera and made sure we knew how to use the camera before we left for a port day.... Later, he remembered us as we walked by the internet area, stopped us and wanted to know if we had good luck with our camera. I dont know guys, to me that is great service...

 

I cant seem to resolve the difference that I experienced to some of the previous posts. Perhaps it does vary ship by ship. I do know that I have sailed many lines, and this past cruise on the "X", being our first with Celebrity, was one of our most enjoyable cruises ever.... Now, the real problem for me is what to do going forward. We did book this cruise, post - no discounts... The experience was so good I dont want to sail another line with more reasonabe prices..

 

AHH, such a problem to have!!

Janet

[judyfssw]

I think that the Captain of the Constellation is one of the nicer officers. Everytime I've sailed the Constellation, I've observed him as he walked around the ship. He'll stop and talk with people, or if people stop him, he always appears gracious, spends a few moments with them and then excuses himself and moves on. I've also seen him walking with a purpose. People on this board talk about meeting him early in the morning at the Cova Cafe getting his morning coffee.

We were on the Infinity last summer. I did meet an officer in the elavator. I was very enthusiatic about our cruise and he responded in like. I guess the more hands on person you are, the more responsive to your pax. I've heard tales of standoffish officers. There are lots of executives that are also standoffish. It's their personalities. As long as they keep us safe, I'll be fine. If someone talks to me, I'll respond. If they don't, I'll find someone who will even if it's my husband:)

[catmand]

Blazerboy........................... .........thanks for that, I should have know. Now I feel much better.

By the way, as I always say and no one ever does: If you want to see the Captain's bridge......................tell him you're a dentist.

[Ma Bell]

We have found the service on Celebrity ships to be excellent. I have noticed that they respond to you according to the way you approach them. Many people don't want a lot of interaction with crew members and I believe the crew are taught to be circumspect unless the passenger initiates conversation. They do however, always speak to you wherever you may be. If you make eye contact with any crew member they always say good morning etc. The officers do not speak to the passengers unless spoken to unless they already know you and then they always speak.

 

If you want them to be outgoing they will definitely be that way when they know it's the kind of interaction you like.

[uktog]

On our recent Summit trip in a Sky Suite we did not have fresh flowers, pillow or a wider menu - however, on asking, once we got over all the hurdles, the breakfast menu appeared. The staff, with the exception of our cabin attendant were excellent and friendly and I thought one of the nicest captains in the fleet was onboard

 

I mentioned to the Future Cruise consultant that I did not think it was correct that Concierge Class had better perks and also that some of the extras you could have in Sky Suites had to be asked for rather than offered. She advised me - and yes you have not been dreaming mahdnc I did post it - they were told at an update briefing in Miami in March Celebrity were going to repackage the extras for Suites as they recognised this was a problem. Her take on it was the Concierge Class concept was brought in quickly to address the issue of Deck 9 cabins - but they had not considered the impact elsewhere.

 

Anyway - I would agree - some new "perks" are needed for Sky Suites - I agree the butler would get you almost anything you asked for - but I would like to see me having to do less asking

 

AJ

[katiebeth]

Dear A.J.

 

We too have cruised in the CC class cabins on Celebrity. We really enjoyed the extra perks (i.e. flowers, pillow menu, and enhanced room service menu).

 

We are booked in a Sky Suite on the Infinity 6/9 sailing to Alaska and was surprised that those perks are not available in the suites. You had noted that Celebrity had a meeting regarding this issue in March and has plans to upgrade the amenities offered in the suites so they are comparable with the CC class. Do you have any idea when they plan to start offering these amenities to suite guests as well?

 

Thanks,

 

Nancy

[uktog]

Nancy

There was no clue as to when it would happen from, the consultant was waiting to hear what it might be (she thought some of the internet access pricing might be different for example) and when it might happen

In your Sky Suite just ask for the various things - our problem was having not been CC we did not know the breakfast options until the menus weer found and being from the UK we are not familiar with typical US breakfasts to make a guess

Hope you enjoy your trip - we will be on the Infinity in Sept

AJ

[Char]

Hey Nancy :D

 

You are on our Alaska sailing :p Please come over and join the roll call, we have 66 signed up for the Connections party and almost 2200 posts! Here is the link that will take you to one of the later pages, rather that to post #1 ;) Infinity to Alaska 6/09/2005 starting at post number 2121

 

Hope to see you there! :)

Dear A.J.

 

We too have cruised in the CC class cabins on Celebrity. We really enjoyed the extra perks (i.e. flowers, pillow menu, and enhanced room service menu).

 

We are booked in a Sky Suite on the Infinity 6/9 sailing to Alaska and was surprised that those perks are not available in the suites. You had noted that Celebrity had a meeting regarding this issue in March and has plans to upgrade the amenities offered in the suites so they are comparable with the CC class. Do you have any idea when they plan to start offering these amenities to suite guests as well?

 

Thanks,

 

Nancy

[Roger the Swiss]

Well, you should once try a cruise with COSTA Cruise line and I bet you will be more than happy to be back on Celebrity. We found that the Staff on Celebrity was always friendly but I also have to say, that we treat them nicely as well and do not consider them as "Bringo" (bring... go.....)

 

We look forward to our next Cruise with Celebrity next March (Carribean dept. Ft. Lauderdale) and have just been advised that we will sail on Infinity rather than Millenium as marked in the catalogue.

 

We are therefore more worried about the described problem with "brown Water" in particular in the Cabin we will have (7208 aft). I hoope it will be solved by then....

 

Cheers

Roger

[warmwinds]

Roger...you said you have "just been advised" that you will be on the Infinity rather than the Millenium next March...advised by whom? Celebrity itself? We're on the Millenium for a Caribbean cruise in February and have not heard anything. Were you called, e-mailed, what?

[Holly2]

We are also waiting to see if our cruise is switched to Infinity -- no word yet and it even earlier (01/02). Just in case, could anyone tell me whether or not cabins 7161 and 7163 are affected by the odor and water problem?

 

Thanks. I'd appreciate any info.

[Roger the Swiss]

Roger...you said you have "just been advised" that you will be on the Infinity rather than the Millenium next March...advised by whom? Celebrity itself? We're on the Millenium for a Caribbean cruise in February and have not heard anything. Were you called, e-mailed, what?

 

 

We have received the confirmation of our Cruise last week, 5 days after having made the booking (at that time still meaning it will be Millenium). In one of the Forums I saw a message from a Cruiser that Millenium has been relaced by Infinity for the Carribiean cruises due to Motor problems that could be handled better while she (Millenium) is sailing in Europe. I was therefore not astonished to receive a confirmation mentioning INFINITY (since she is exatly the same but 1 year younger.....). Also our AFT CC Cabin 7208 is hopefully the same (oversize Veranda)

 

I will phone the TRavel AGent today and ask for the exact reason. They might know and I come back.

 

Cheers

[joelmarj]

The ships are the exact same in layout and therefore your cabin numbers are the same (as is the layout of the cabin). The switch should be a non-issue from that standpoint.

[Holly2]

As of yesterday, Celebrity was still saying that Millenium would be doing the Eastern Caribbean. Sounds like the switch is more than a rumor now! Thanks for the updates. When do you think Celebrity will announce it?

[Holly2]

Roger, Could you please post on the Infinity/Millenium thread? You seem to be the only one who has been told something official! Thanks

[Roger the Swiss]

Roger, Could you please post on the Infinity/Millenium thread? You seem to be the

only one who has been told something official! Thanks

 

Hi Holly2

 

I have now rechecked with the Cruiseline and it seems that they made an error. I have received a new confiramtion showing "Millenium" as the vessel used for the cruise.

 

This wi^ll hopefuly avoid the problem with "brown water"

 

Sorry for the troubles created to many cruisers

 

Roger

[Holly2]

Thanks. I'll spread the word.