What's going on with the Connie?

[rolloman]

Before this turns into the green bean thread, I just remembered another issue to bring up. We ate at both speciality restaurants. This was not our initial intention as we only had the Tuscan Grill on our agenda to eat with friends. While we were stuck in Key West and at the buffet a gentleman named Giany from the Ocean Liner restuarant came by and said he was taking reservations and would only charge us 30pp instead of the usual 40. We said no thanks as we were already set in Tuscan. He proceeded to say the Italian food was down here (waved his and low) and said the Ocean Liner restuarant was up here (waved his hand high) and after some more persuading we said ok. I found that odd he would compare the two this way since they both are Celebrity. So once we were at the Ocean Liner restuarant our waiter seemed like he hated the world, no smiling, forcing every move he made associated with his job. We both ordered the lobster made table side and it horrible. I wish we had saved our money. The next night we went to Tuscan with friends. Upon entering the restuarant we were greeted by our eventual server named Maurice or something similar. He said I would like to have you sit on the table and my friend jokingly said well we will sit at the table but not on it. The guy obviously took offense to it and from that point forward he put us in the freezer. Cold, standoff and barely going through the motions. Dinner took 3 hours and at one point we experienced 30 minutes sitting with dirty plates in front of us. Keep in mind none of us said a word as we were enjoying each others company. Finally after clearing the dishes he brought the desert menu and all of us said not thanks as most of us were deserted out at this point in the cruise. The waiter out of no where gets pissy and started saying look sorry if you think service took so long, we have a small kitchen and a small staff and blah blah blah blah blah. It must have been a 3 or 4 minute speech until finally I said look we get it, no need to continue to belabor the point. This was the end of our dining experience on our 4 day cruise.

[need2bespoiled]

Before this turns into the green bean thread, I just remembered another issue to bring up. We ate at both speciality restaurants. This was not our initial intention as we only had the Tuscan Grill on our agenda to eat with friends. While we were stuck in Key West and at the buffet a gentleman named Giany from the Ocean Liner restuarant came by and said he was taking reservations and would only charge us 30pp instead of the usual 40. We said no thanks as we were already set in Tuscan. He proceeded to say the Italian food was down here (waved his and low) and said the Ocean Liner restuarant was up here (waved his hand high) and after some more persuading we said ok. I found that odd he would compare the two this way since they both are Celebrity. So once we were at the Ocean Liner restuarant our waiter seemed like he hated the world, no smiling, forcing every move he made associated with his job. We both ordered the lobster made table side and it horrible. I wish we had saved our money. The next night we went to Tuscan with friends. Upon entering the restuarant we were greeted by our eventual server named Maurice or something similar. He said I would like to have you sit on the table and my friend jokingly said well we will sit at the table but not on it. The guy obviously took offense to it and from that point forward he put us in the freezer. Cold, standoff and barely going through the motions. Dinner took 3 hours and at one point we experienced 30 minutes sitting with dirty plates in front of us. Keep in mind none of us said a word as we were enjoying each others company. Finally after clearing the dishes he brought the desert menu and all of us said not thanks as most of us were deserted out at this point in the cruise. The waiter out of no where gets pissy and started saying look sorry if you think service took so long, we have a small kitchen and a small staff and blah blah blah blah blah. It must have been a 3 or 4 minute speech until finally I said look we get it, no need to continue to belabor the point. This was the end of our dining experience on our 4 day cruise.

 

They only make their gratuities in the specialty restaurants if people eat in them so there is incentive to sell...

[suz57]

We were on Connie's 12/15/12 five nighter just after she returned from the TA. Overall we thought it was a nice cruise. First time on Connie and found it to be nice but not as nice as expected. (4th Celebrity cruise in 3 yrs) My biggest complaint was the bed - pretty hard (not firm - just old and tired it seemed;) We were CClass, cabin 8099. The flooring on the verandah was deteriorating terribly. As someone wrote earlier, we didn't have flowers the first day and mentioned it to our cabin steward who had them promptly placed in the cabin and bathroom. No real problems w/the cabin.

Had a discounted meal at Tuscan Grill which was fabulous - great waiter named Val. The filet and cippino superb! All other nights we were in the MDR/select dining which we loved. Was offered Ocean Liners discounted but heard from other diners that it was over the top as far as too much food, too rich so we canceled. Had the same server twice/Eka in the MDR and he also was great. The others were all fine but not exceptional/memorable. Found the MDR food to be up and down. A scallop appetizer (w/one scallop) was raw/inedible. The chicken saltimbocca on the last night was very dissappointing - dry, underseasoned, the white wine lemon caper sauce almost non-existent. There were a couple things we ordered the first couple nights and were told they were out of a certain component of them - spinach in one, and tuna in another, as I recall. Found that odd since it was early in the cruise and they should have restocked greatly since just back stateside. :confused:

Enjoyed the solarium pool for our first time. The ship was slightly decorated for the holidays at the start of the cruise but more and more appeared toward the end w/the staircase in the foyer completely covered the last 2 nights. All the shows were quite enjoyable. Was pleasantly surprised to see James Stephens III onboard - had enjoyed his comedy on Solstice previously. Also saw a great juggler - and the Celebrity performers were excellent - very talented, great costumes. :D

All in all a nice cruise - next time we'll go for a 7 nighter - enjoy the extras that are included on those - a midweek big brunch and better activities.

p.s. Whereas I appreciate Celebrity's attempt to help out the economy of Jamaica, very likely will not take another cruise that goes there. We decided not to do a shore excursion and just visit the city then relax on the ship. (the immediate port area is nice, clean and new - but who wants to only visit 'chain' stores ?) A steady stream of passengers entered the old city gate and we followed but were very quickly harrassed by locals (who I understand are trying to make a living) but it was downright scary. So much so that once, when I had a woman in each ear pleading w/me to visit their booth, a cop approached and told one to leave me alone. :eek: Had to tell her a couple of times before she did! I bought several items from different dealers but they had me so rattled I left several of the items behind. I eventually asked one to please escort me back to the gate where I breathed a huge sigh of relief for having survived it ! Honestly. :(

[ghstudio]

I think what we are seeing is the 80:20 rule at play. Celebrity was so focused on making the Reflection a PR success that they moved staff from all the other ships.....they moved a good portion of the top 20%! That left the 80% normal/poor workers on each ship without the leadership of those that left for the reflection. Hopefully a new 20% good/excellent group will emerge quickly and the cruise line will be back to it's old self.

[BEAV]

Had a discounted meal at Tuscan Grill which was fabulous - great waiter named Val. The filet and cippino superb! All other nights we were in the MDR/select dining which we loved. Was offered Ocean Liners discounted but heard from other diners that it was over the top as far as too much food, too rich so we canceled.

 

Do you know the reason for their discounting Tuscan and Ocean Liners? Was it to stimulate business or some other reason?

[Orator]

Do you know the reason for their discounting Tuscan and Ocean Liners? Was it to stimulate business or some other reason?

 

Every Maitre 'd is expected to meet a sales goal. They use discounting when they need to boast sales to meet their goal. Few, if any discounts if restaurants are selling well. Many discounts if they aren't. Simply a business decision.

[gatorgirl59]

Just returned yesterday from 5 night Christmas cruise on the Connie. We had 5 sky suites for our extended family of 11, including 3 teenagers. My kids and I are repeat Celebrity cruisers having just done the Solstice in the Med this past summer, rest of family were new to Celebrity. While we definitely prefer the solstice class ships, overall we had a very good experience on the Connie. For the most part, service was excellent! Four of our suites were starboard on deck 6 and our butler and cabin steward were fantastic...top notch service, very clean rooms and bathrooms, every need was met promptly. One of our group was on deck 6, port and had a very poor cabin attendant (no ice, glass doors with smears and streaks, carpet not vacuumed, empty soda cans left when room was made up) but they had a good butler. We ate in Ocean Liners on Christmas Eve and food and service were both outstanding! In fact, so much so that we gave them an additional large tip. We had planned to eat in Tuscan Grille, which we thoroughly enjoyed on the Solstice, but ended up canceling because our food and service in the MDR the next night was so good that we decided to eat there the rest of the cruise. We had Select dining and could not have been happier with our table location, service and food. (MDR hostess, Ana, is fabulous!) Again, even though we had prepaid all gratuities, we tipped extra at end of cruise because service was so good. Also must mention that we were regular visitors to Cafe al Bacio and service was outstanding, especially from Zora! Not big drinkers, so can't comment on service in bars. Table service in Seaside buffet was excellent except for one morning at breakfast, outside at Sunset Bar seating area. Lots of dirty trays and dishes that seemed to be ignored by passing staff. Kids said teen club staff was great. The wonderful CD from the Solstice, Esperanza, has recently joined the Connie and appears to be great for crew morale. As this was our first time on the Connie, I can't compare service to past crews, but can say that many crew members we spoke with had been onboard Connie for quite a few years. All in all, we were very pleased with the service (and my mother and sister are picky!!).

[mathgeek1978]

Just returned yesterday from 5 night Christmas cruise on the Connie. We had 5 sky suites for our extended family of 11, including 3 teenagers. My kids and I are repeat Celebrity cruisers having just done the Solstice in the Med this past summer, rest of family were new to Celebrity. While we definitely prefer the solstice class ships, overall we had a very good experience on the Connie. For the most part, service was excellent! Four of our suites were starboard on deck 6 and our butler and cabin steward were fantastic...top notch service, very clean rooms and bathrooms, every need was met promptly. One of our group was on deck 6, port and had a very poor cabin attendant (no ice, glass doors with smears and streaks, carpet not vacuumed, empty soda cans left when room was made up) but they had a good butler. We ate in Ocean Liners on Christmas Eve and food and service were both outstanding! In fact, so much so that we gave them an additional large tip. We had planned to eat in Tuscan Grille, which we thoroughly enjoyed on the Solstice, but ended up canceling because our food and service in the MDR the next night was so good that we decided to eat there the rest of the cruise. We had Select dining and could not have been happier with our table location, service and food. (MDR hostess, Ana, is fabulous!) Again, even though we had prepaid all gratuities, we tipped extra at end of cruise because service was so good. Also must mention that we were regular visitors to Cafe al Bacio and service was outstanding, especially from Zora! Not big drinkers, so can't comment on service in bars. Table service in Seaside buffet was excellent except for one morning at breakfast, outside at Sunset Bar seating area. Lots of dirty trays and dishes that seemed to be ignored by passing staff. Kids said teen club staff was great. The wonderful CD from the Solstice, Esperanza, has recently joined the Connie and appears to be great for crew morale. As this was our first time on the Connie, I can't compare service to past crews, but can say that many crew members we spoke with had been onboard Connie for quite a few years. All in all, we were very pleased with the service (and my mother and sister are picky!!).

 

Thanks for you report. I am glad that I'm not the only one who enjoyed good food and service on the Connie. And yes, Esperanza is awesome and she ran the shows with so much enthusiasm.

[suz57]

Do you know the reason for their discounting Tuscan and Ocean Liners? Was it to stimulate business or some other reason?

 

My guess is it's to fill seats. I'd read here on CC that discounts were sometimes offered on embarkation day so I called when we boarded and yes - 20% was offered. At the same time they offered 20% off at Ocean Liners which we booked for later in the week but canceled a couple days later. Oddly enough while at the Sunset Bar one evening a gentleman was walking around offering discounts at both specialty restaurants and was evidently fairly successful as he had only one time slot open. We went to TG on embarkation day and every seat was indeed full. Worth every penny - was excellent.....except (sorry to nit-pick) but in TG on Solstice, the location was at the rear of the ship with an incredible view of the ocean and the night we went - a full moon as well! Well, TG on Connie (I know - a much smaller ship) was a view of the midship pools and jogging track. About halfway through dinner, one of the bands started up by the pool. I believe they've gotten negative feedback about that before as the maitre`d picked that time to stop by our table and strike up a pretty long conversation. We talked alot about the meal and the TA - he said the TA was surprising pleasant due to good weather, calm seas. So a good distraction it turned out to be.

[Oville]

But how many tables was he able to distract?

[TMLAalum]

I hope that problems reported here have caught the attention of folks in the Celebrity head shed and the personnel on the Constellation have been advised of the legitimate concerns raised by loyal X cruisers.

 

We are on a 4-day- our first M-class experience- and there are 2 first time cruisers traveling with us. Sure hope that this cruise is as fabulous as our previous X cruises for their sake and ours!!

[BEAV]

We'll be aboard starting next Monday (Jan 7) and I'll be sure and make note of what it states in the daily paper. Also, we have booked Tuscan Grille for the only formal night of the sailing.

[JMaclauchlan]

I have to agree with my fellow cruisers. I was with my DW for my sister's wedding cruise, she was getting hitched on the beach in KW. I must say the check-in processes was the smoothest I have experinced probably would have been easier if their online check in process would have been more current( ie told that we would have to get our luggage tags from a porter but then they sent them via snail-mail but also on our eticket book and they lost our pre-paid gratuities), but that was easily corrected by the excellent guest services staff and there ends the pros of this trip.

 

I agree that the serivce seemed to be lacking and the food in the MDR and buffett was just as lacking ( was even servered cold burgers at the poolside grill),and no one seemed to care. And like another poster, our stateroom's bedding looked worn and was even torn in a few places. Not sure about this as this is my first cruise on Celebrity but was put off by, the highly repatative, sales tables.

 

My last complaint is more about the Constellation herself, our cabin was 2185 which is right by the entrance to the crew's section and right under the MDR's galley so by the time we were retiring after our late seating in the MDR we were treated to the sounds of washing dishes etc. We also had a lovely smell coming from the black water check valve compartment across from our staterooms's door ( black water is sewer btw).

 

This was DW second cruise (her first was our honeymoom cruise aboard Carnival Fascination ) and she couldnt believe how much better our experince was with them.

 

I highly doubt we will cruise with Celebrity again.

[vplsh]

I have to agree with my fellow cruisers. I was with my DW for my sister's wedding cruise, she was getting hitched on the beach in KW. I must say the check-in processes was the smoothest I have experinced probably would have been easier if their online check in process would have been more current( ie told that we would have to get our luggage tags from a porter but then they sent them via snail-mail but also on our eticket book and they lost our pre-paid gratuities), but that was easily corrected by the excellent guest services staff and there ends the pros of this trip.

 

I agree that the serivce seemed to be lacking and the food in the MDR and buffett was just as lacking ( was even servered cold burgers at the poolside grill),and no one seemed to care. And like another poster, our stateroom's bedding looked worn and was even torn in a few places. Not sure about this as this is my first cruise on Celebrity but was put off by, the highly repatative, sales tables.

 

My last complaint is more about the Constellation herself, our cabin was 2185 which is right by the entrance to the crew's section and right under the MDR's galley so by the time we were retiring after our late seating in the MDR we were treated to the sounds of washing dishes etc. We also had a lovely smell coming from the black water check valve compartment across from our staterooms's door ( black water is sewer btw).

 

This was DW second cruise (her first was our honeymoom cruise aboard Carnival Fascination ) and she couldnt believe how much better our experince was with them.

 

I highly doubt we will cruise with Celebrity again.

 

We were on this cruise as well and definitely do not count it among our best cruises, however it will not stop us from sailing with Celebrity again. Your choice of cabin location is something that you need to do research on before you book. There is a lot of info out there, on Cruise Critic especially, about cabins that are not in the ideal location.

 

We like Carnival as well, but would definitely choose Celebrity over any other line if the itinerary and price are right.

[Oville]

Just finished the first leg of a b2b on Connie and we had a wonderful time. Service has been outstanding throughout the ship including Select Dining. The food has been quite good with no misses for us yet. We had a very enjoyable dinner at Oceanliners and will try Tuscon this cruise. The piano player in Michaels Club, Liz Strauss" is great and she has had SRO crowds in the evening which has kept the wait staff hopping. Each night she changes the type of music played.

 

As a lover of the Solstice class ships I never thought I'd say this, but our Connie cruise has been a better time for us than our December Reflection trip.

[fgc15527]

Oville,

 

I am so glad to hear that things are going better on the Connie after a few poor cruises in December. This ship has had such a good reputation that I knew our December cruise experience had to have been just an aberation and that things would get better.

[cruiseflyer38]

The Connie has been our fovourite ship for many years. I believe we have cruised on the Connie around eight times. Sad to hear such bad reports but hopefully it was a short duratioin problem.

 

In 2009 we did a Panama Canal trip and one of the crew had been a bad boy and was fired on short notice. We had to cruise four days with-out a Restaurant Manager and it was hard to believe how much difference one person can make. It seemed every restaurant on the ship was in a state of confusion. The replacement manager actually boarded from a small boat in the Panama Canal. He got the problems straigntened out in two days and everything was great , as is typical, for the rest of the cruise.

 

Unfortunately humans come in many qualities and even great companies like Celebrity get stuck occasionally.

 

Happy cruising.

[lovestx]

So very glad to hear that things have improved on the Connie since our lackluster cruise on her in December. Guess all of our comments were read and dealt with :) We have not sworn off Celebrity and will just chalk our four days in December as an aberration.

[Denny01]

I'll not comment on the ship since we haven't been on her for a few years. But we are booked for the Black Sea cruise which is pretty well sold out.

 

But what I usually do when I see threads about how poor recent reviews and posts have been about a ship, is I go and average the ratings of the last 25 reviews. Connie got 3 5+, 10 5's, 8 4's, 2 poor 2's and 1 dismal 1. That averages at 4.0, and when I removed the highest and lowest, it averaged 4.4. Pretty good.

 

By the way, the 'one' rating, the person got the Norovirus and attributed it to the ship not requiring the passengers to use the hand gell. Go figure.

 

Personally, I'm looking forward to cruising on Her. She was our favorite M-Class. Hopefully, She fulfills what we remembered from the past.

 

Lovestx, nice post.

 

Den

[phoenix_dream]

I agree it pays to look at the reviews overall. I also look at the person's experience on Celebrity. All reviews are valid, certainly (at least we hope they are written honestly) but I give a little more weight to those written by people who cruise Celebrity often. I feel that they have more to compare against and have a better idea what to expect, as well as how good the cruise can be. For example, I submitted a not-so-great review of my recent Summit cruise (don't recall if it is published yet). It was not a bad cruise by any means, but having sailed Celebrity more than 20 times I knew a number of areas where it was just not up to par and said so. Someone new to cruising may not have realized what was missing, and those who primarily cruise other lines are more likely comparing the experience to the other cruise line(s). All valid input, but to me not as on-point as an experienced X cruiser if I am looking into how a particular ship is doing recently.

[Andy]

Just finished the first leg of a b2b on Connie and we had a wonderful time. Service has been outstanding throughout the ship including Select Dining. The food has been quite good with no misses for us yet. We had a very enjoyable dinner at Oceanliners and will try Tuscon this cruise. The piano player in Michaels Club, Liz Strauss" is great and she has had SRO crowds in the evening which has kept the wait staff hopping. Each night she changes the type of music played.

 

As a lover of the Solstice class ships I never thought I'd say this, but our Connie cruise has been a better time for us than our December Reflection trip.

 

Hi Oville,

 

Thanks very much for your update. I'm happy to hear you are having a great time. We are onboard Connie in less than 3 weeks, and cant wait. Enjoy your Cruise !

[suz57]

But how many tables was he able to distract?

 

That's true ! However, our table would have been the most disturbed by the poolside band. We were by the window, and behind the bandstand....tables behind us had a solid wall. And a tall wine cooler separated us from the window seats beyond us which curved around to the jogging track/outside of the ship. All's well that ends well. It was a memorable meal and we enjoyed the conversation as well.

[Orator]

On Connie now. Spoke to Chf Jason about food quality issues. Told me that he was sent to Connie very recently. Supposed to go to another ship. Said that everything is beginning to come together. Had an excellent Prime Rib last night.

[lovestx]

Orator,

Be sure to catch a performance or two of Top Shelf. They are really talented and tremendously friendly guys. They even remembered that they had met us on the Equinox back in June '12 and made a huge deal out of getting our daughter's picture with them as they knew she was fond of them!

[maitlandmom]

Just returned yesterday from 5 night Christmas cruise on the Connie. We had 5 sky suites for our extended family of 11, including 3 teenagers. My kids and I are repeat Celebrity cruisers having just done the Solstice in the Med this past summer, rest of family were new to Celebrity. While we definitely prefer the solstice class ships, overall we had a very good experience on the Connie. For the most part, service was excellent! Four of our suites were starboard on deck 6 and our butler and cabin steward were fantastic...top notch service, very clean rooms and bathrooms, every need was met promptly. One of our group was on deck 6, port and had a very poor cabin attendant (no ice, glass doors with smears and streaks, carpet not vacuumed, empty soda cans left when room was made up) but they had a good butler. We ate in Ocean Liners on Christmas Eve and food and service were both outstanding! In fact, so much so that we gave them an additional large tip. We had planned to eat in Tuscan Grille, which we thoroughly enjoyed on the Solstice, but ended up canceling because our food and service in the MDR the next night was so good that we decided to eat there the rest of the cruise. We had Select dining and could not have been happier with our table location, service and food. (MDR hostess, Ana, is fabulous!) Again, even though we had prepaid all gratuities, we tipped extra at end of cruise because service was so good. Also must mention that we were regular visitors to Cafe al Bacio and service was outstanding, especially from Zora! Not big drinkers, so can't comment on service in bars. Table service in Seaside buffet was excellent except for one morning at breakfast, outside at Sunset Bar seating area. Lots of dirty trays and dishes that seemed to be ignored by passing staff. Kids said teen club staff was great. The wonderful CD from the Solstice, Esperanza, has recently joined the Connie and appears to be great for crew morale. As this was our first time on the Connie, I can't compare service to past crews, but can say that many crew members we spoke with had been onboard Connie for quite a few years. All in all, we were very pleased with the service (and my mother and sister are picky!!).

 

Thank you for sharing this. We were also on the Solstice in the Med over the summer and loved it. We are considering the Connie for a Northern European cruise this summer. While we realize that it is a completly different class of ship, we would expect the same level of Celebrity service. I'm glad Esperanza is on the Connie. We were on her final Solstice cruise.