What's going on with the Connie?

[Oville]

I am so glad mathgeek1978 has posted a review about the Dec. 15th Connie cruise on this forum. It's a far cry from what we've been reading here. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1756103

 

I know many Connie fans are sad to see this ship doing the shorter Caribbean cruises, but Millie made the transition and I personally enjoyed a b2b on her last winter in February. For those disappointed by the change, please don't review this ship without sailing her new schedule. It is a bit unsettling to read negative comments from those who have not been on the last 2 cruises.

 

My husband and I will be on the January 7th cruise and are looking forward to sailing Connie again, albeit a much shorter cruise.

[c-legs]

The current conversation about Connie's level of service was to be expected,...She spent her life sailing gorgeous 12+/- days voyages...a most defenite opposite to the ''shorties'' she's now assigned to. For current crew members who've been on duty on Connie for a while, this is a massive adaptation ( and,for most, an unwelconed one....). For newbie crew members ( whom I understand are in large numbers) , this is perhaps the worst ''break in-training'' voyage you can hope for..

I recall similar comments when Millie started the shorties last year.....abd things ultimately settled down by about mid-winter. Hopefully, a mirror of what's to come with Connie.

The ''shorty'' -type sailings are really not a good mix for a line of Celebrity's caliber...maybe not '' oxymoronic'' but close....

On the other hand, $$$$$$ runs a lot of things....

 

Patience is a virtue...but Celebrity ought to not presume its abundance among its loyal frequent guests.

But patience will be rewarded. I bet that by the time Host Andy and his little group board, things will be back to ''Celebrity status'' ....

Cheers

[Esprit]

It's disappointing to read the the negative reviews as my daughter is currently working on board as one of the Activities team.

 

She was last on Connie back in autumn/winter 2010/11 and was pleased to be returning after two contracts on S class ships, but does acknowledge that the short cruises are hard work compared to the longer ones.

 

They constantly compare their passengers' ratings with other Celebrity ships and they really want the ship they are currently working on to be the best in the fleet.

 

As for crew wishing to be moved to other ships, that's not the impression I get when speaking to her.

[lovestx]

We were on the 12/20 sailing of the Connie and were underwhelmed. Would just like to say that I was relieved to come on CC after the cruise and hear that others had a less-than-stellar experience and am also appreciative to all of you who have kindly listened to our feedback without blaming us for being negative. Seems the switch in staff plus the shorter cruises has hurt morale and standards.

 

And I can concur with fgc (the OP) that the waffles were raw, they didn't serve waffles on disembarkation day (maybe this is the norm), the shrimp were small, and some of the waitstaff in the MDR seemed more like servers than waiters (though we did have some who described specials, made recommendations). One of the most bizarre waiters (and it may have happened twice) expected us to order dessert when we ordered our meal. We finally just said that we would like to order dessert after we had finished the meal. Just odd. And we, too, were surprised that they didn't add some activities when the weather was cold. The Activities Staff was tough to find....much less of a presence than on Equinox in June.

 

We will probably sail Celebrity again, but my family will stick to port intensive itineraries and Aqua Class.

[vplsh]

I don't have a whole lot to add to what the OP and Lovestx (Hi Carol!) had to say, except that our food was good in the MDR, but the service was awful. Our waiter never asked our names (we were at the 8:30 fixed seating) and we never got out before 10:15. This really was unacceptable.

 

This was our fourth Celebrity cruise and it was most definitely not what we expected. Our first was a four day Christmas cruise on Century, which hooked us on the cruise line over Royal Caribbean and Princess. I didn't expect this cruise to be like the Eclipse, since that is a much newer ship with an Aqua Class, but I did expect it to be similar to Century. It wasn't even close!

 

When the weather turned colder and we were stuck with a sea day in the middle, we were very disappointed at the lack of activities. We had a similar situation on a Carnival cruise, and they put in many activities that we could enjoy on our "extra" sea day. This cruise had nothing. And there was such poor communication about the weather and our extra long stay in Key West, that it really added to our upset over missing Cozumel.

 

I agree with those who say they would rather be on a cruise stuck in Key West than at work but it was disappointing, to say the least, and the inconsistent service only added to that disappointment.

 

There were some bright lights among the staff who we recognized on our comment cards. Shannon in the gym and Lavinia in the spa were wonderful and truly added to our experience. Our sommelier, Imade, was the only person in the MDR who made us look forward to dinner each evening. And several of the bar staff, particularly Fernando at the martini bar, were friendly and efficient. So please don't think that there weren't good things on this cruise for us, because there were. We still had a good time- far better than being at work! But it wasn't up to our expectations.

 

We will definitely be sailing Celebrity again- it is our line of choice. And we are booked on Constellation again for next December when the AQ cabins are added. I just feel, as the OP, that this was a disappointing cruise. Hopefully things will improve.

[vaguy79]

I, too, was on the December 20th sailing. My group consisted of 3 CC rooms. Unlike the other CC rooms, we never received any flowers at all in the room.

 

The best word to describe the cruise would be underwhelming. Service in the MDR was very slow and on the last night, they ran out of the featured salad. When we asked for a normal salad, the waiter said they didn't have any except for Caesar. The timing of everything just seemed off.

 

During lunch, the buffet had sprinkles for the ice cream, but at dinner there were none. When asking the attendant for sprinkles, her response was, "not at this time."

 

Again, I had a decent time, but if this was someone's first time on Celebrity, I would understand their hesitation of booking another Celebrity cruise.

[2flacruisers]

We have a group of 10 on the Jan. 7th cruise and, even after reading all of the negative postings, we are all excited to be cruising on the Connie...we were on the Millie earlier this this year and had a wonderful time. We have cruised on the Solstice, but we prefer the smaller ships.

[ORV]

I, too, was on the December 20th sailing. My group consisted of 3 CC rooms. Unlike the other CC rooms, we never received any flowers at all in the room.

 

The best word to describe the cruise would be underwhelming. Service in the MDR was very slow and on the last night, they ran out of the featured salad. When we asked for a normal salad, the waiter said they didn't have any except for Caesar. The timing of everything just seemed off.

 

During lunch, the buffet had sprinkles for the ice cream, but at dinner there were none. When asking the attendant for sprinkles, her response was, "not at this time."

 

Again, I had a decent time, but if this was someone's first time on Celebrity, I would understand their hesitation of booking another Celebrity cruise.

 

Yes, I can see how not having sprinkles on ice cream would be a deal breaker. :rolleyes:

[mathgeek1978]

Yes, I can see how not having sprinkles on ice cream would be a deal breaker. :rolleyes:

OMG!!! No sprinkles on ice cream!!! What's wrong with the Connie??? :eek: :p :D :rolleyes:

[rolloman]

I was also on this cruise and I must say I was shocked. Being a true Elite, I am quite familiar with the Celebrity product. It seemed everything from the beginning was off. During embarkation, the rep could not scan my boarding pass, then said my passport belonged to someone else, finally after 20 minutes I moved to another agent who checked us in with no issues.

 

Once onboard I went to the buffett and was amazed at the few unappealing selections available. We had a balcony cabin midship 6th deck. The bed skirt was torn in several places exposing the metal frame, the bed itself was buckeled to where I had to sleep on a downward angle. Also the carpet was wet on one side of the bed. The curtains were old and drab and I found large black hairs all over the cabin (sink, desk, bed, floor). I have a youngster and she found a un-identified pill on the floor which scared the crap out of me knowing the fact she could have ate it like candy. The room steward was lazy. No way around it. No toilet paper in the room as well. Folks this was my room, our traveling friends checked into their room right down the passageway from us and it was not even made up!!!! Embarrassing. I am booked on Reflection in a couple months and now I am second guessing. It honestly felt like a cheap Carnival Cruise. As for crew attitude, maybe they missed home because of the holidays, who knows, but the fact remains service and smiles were lacking in all areas. I am sorry to have written this as Celebrity is my favorite line but something positive needs to change with this ship and change in a hurry.

[fgc15527]

Rolloman - We were on the November 4th sailing of Reflection for two weeks and it was great. I would not worry about sailing on the Reflection - the staff, food, entertainment around the ship, stateroom were all wonderful. The food in the MDR was some of the best we have had on Celebrity. You should really enjoy it.

[lovestx]

Rolloman, thanks for posting about your experience. So glad to know that my family wasn't crazy in feeling something was off. As new cruisers, we just thought we missed Aquaclass/Blu or that Caribbean cruises were not for us. It will be hard for me to convince my family to return to a cruise, I fear, after this experience.

 

Does anyone at Celebrity monitor CC? Just curious if they would even be aware of the negative experiences so that they (corporate?) can rectify it before others cruise on Connie. Hopefully all who were unhappy expressed their disappointment on their comment cards.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

 

When the weather turned colder and we were stuck with a sea day in the middle, we were very disappointed at the lack of activities. We had a similar situation on a Carnival cruise, and they put in many activities that we could enjoy on our "extra" sea day. This cruise had nothing. And there was such poor communication about the weather and our extra long stay in Key West, that it really added to our upset over missing Cozumel.

 

I agree with those who say they would rather be on a cruise stuck in Key West than at work but it was disappointing, to say the least, and the inconsistent service only added to that disappointment.

.

If you are expecting lot of activities then you should stick with Carnival, Celebrity cruises are laid back

[Chillaxn']

As a regular Elite we are boarding Connie 1/7. I hope they have these issues straight by then.

 

BTW, how many credits does it take to become a true Elite ??:D:D

[Jade13]

Being a true Elite,

 

What is a "true Elite"?

[rolloman]

By true elite I meant one that got the status via credits on celebrity ship sailings not by gifted status via royal Caribbean equal leveling. Just for the record I am d plus as well.

[vplsh]

If you are expecting lot of activities then you should stick with Carnival, Celebrity cruises are laid back

 

 

Thanks for your opinion. As an elite Celebrity cruiser, I still expected to have things to do on a rerouted cruise where the weather wasn't great.

 

And I think if you read through all of the 'negative' comments, we have all stated that we were disappointed in this cruise compared to other Celebrity cruises. While the change in itinerary was necessary and we all understand why, the lack of standout service, dining room issues and yes, even no sprinkles at dinner in the buffet, are anomalies on Celebrity. Most of us have said we will definitely be sailing Celebrity again. None of us have sworn off the line.

 

Celebrity encourages guests to let them know when things aren't up to par. Why would you want Cruise Critic to be any other way?

[phoenix_dream]

Having recently experienced my first (in over 20 cruises) underwhelming Celebrity cruise on the Summit, I am dismayed to read Connie is also having issues. Could it be that the cruiselines in general (and X in particular) have just been expanding too rapidly and can't keep up with the staff training? And/or have they expanded so fast at a bad time in world economy that they just can't generate the revenue they expected to keep up the standards they are famous for? Makes one wonder. It is starting to seem like their efforts are being directed first towards their newer ships and the older ones get what is left in the way of trained staff and budgets. Hopefully these issues are temporary and not trends.

[rolloman]

I think the automatic tipping is partially to blame. It seems there is no longer a need to go the extra mile when they know the tips will be coming regardless of their effort.

[Orator]

I think the automatic tipping is partially to blame. It seems there is no longer a need to go the extra mile when they know the tips will be coming regardless of their effort.

 

Really don't think that is a factor. They've had automatic tipping for several years without problems in service being reported. I've received outstanding services both in Blu and MDR and usually use automatic tips. Remember, excellent service might bring extra tips. Think that the problems are more ship specific and reflect some morale problems created by weak leadership on the vessel. I've actually had a number of friends among the crew say that to me. I also think that some crew are now under the impression that promotion might be more difficult since the fleet is now complete and this could be a factor on some ships. Recently completed 29 days on Silhouette and I can tell you that is was fantastic. Others have reported the same reaction on these boards.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Really don't think that is a factor. They've had automatic tipping for several years without problems in service being reported. I've received outstanding services both in Blu and MDR and usually use automatic tips. Remember, excellent service might bring extra tips. Think that the problems are more ship specific and reflect some morale problems created by weak leadership on the vessel. I've actually had a number of friends among the crew say that to me. I also think that some crew are now under the impression that promotion might be more difficult since the fleet is now complete and this could be a factor on some ships. Recently completed 29 days on Silhouette and I can tell you that is was fantastic. Others have reported the same reaction on these boards.

 

I would agree, also with the Reflection coming on stream, that was 1,440 crew add to Clecbrity work force

I think it may take a couple of cruises before they can work like a team

Notice on the Equinox there was alot of new crew and it was their first cruise

[bottomfeeder]

I read earlier in this thread that a lot of the crew change on the Connie had come just before the TA sailing. I was on the TA and I had absolutely no disappointments with the crew service or attitude, or for that matter with the food--although I can say I didn't find the food as great as last year's Solstice cruise. I figured my reaction to the food was just because the Solstice cruise was the first I'd been on in several years so everything seemed better!

 

Not sure why things would change so much between the TA and the cruise just after it, if there was not much change in crew.

[clipper110A]

As the Connie was inexplicably moved to the short itineraries, the crew began to steel themselves for what the were calling the "booze cruises" and "beer runs".

 

+ 1 But I would have expected this type of crew "burnout" to be prevalent toward the end of the 4/5 day sequences, not on the second one after the Atlantic crossing...

 

Also cost cutting and deterioration in food is directly proportionate to cruise fares..fares are much lower proportionally...verandah perdiems well under 100pp per day...In our 4 Celebrity cruises in the last 3 months, we have noted in general far less creativity with vegetable sides in MDR and ALOT of carrots and green beans...maybe less expensive or they hold well...not sure... In 20 years with X, there has been a general dining slippage from the Roux days, though the company is trying with different dining venues, etc...

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

In our 4 Celebrity cruises in the last 3 months, we have noted in general far less creativity with vegetable sides in MDR and ALOT of carrots and green beans...maybe less expensive or they hold well...not sure... In 20 years with X, there has been a general dining slippage from the Roux days, though the company is trying with different dining venues, etc...

 

Interesting you should mention the green beans. We had green beans every single night in the MDR on our recent Eclipse cruise. :D We decided there must have been a special on green beans!

[clipper110A]

Interesting you should mention the green beans. We had green beans every single night in the MDR on our recent Eclipse cruise. :D We decided there must have been a special on green beans!

 

 

HAHAHA Nothing against green beans, but we saw them almost every night we went to MDR on Suez and Connie TA....and then they appeared in Buffet Indian veg curries the next day...maybe they got a deal at CostCo.. LOL