Just off Constellation -- so many changes with the X brand

[wwcruisers]

Anyway, having done bar packages twice before on Celebrity, this is what I do: I generally choose two or three "favorite" bartenders and make sure to tip them. I also do this with the restaurant drinks server on the first night. I generally do not have a problem with getting good service. And, by the way, I always tip ship bartenders beyond the 15% that is added automatically, no matter what cruise line.

 

When we were on Century, last month, we noticed that there simply weren't as many bartenders/servers as our last Century cruise. We did not have the drink package, so it was a little strange, having to go in search of a drink. However, DH took a page from your book, Matt, and got to know a couple of bartenders at the Pool Bar, early in our cruise. He had good service there, after that! ;)

 

And, while I would have no idea about what the bartenders (or anyone else onboard) is being paid -- my observation is that they are definitely over-worked, as a result of the bev package's popularity. :(

[constantcruiser]

In the past 5 years nearly all our cruises have been on Celebrity, because DH & I both love the S-class ships.

 

Last month I went on a 4-night RCI cruise with my daughters as a quick girls' weekend. Although we're all Diamond+ on Royal, I really wasn't expecting much from the ship or the service, but just looking forward to the company. Instead we were stunned by the appearance of the recently "revitalized" Navigator of the Seas, the quiet atmosphere and stellar service in MDR, and genuine display of friendliness and professionalism from the staff.

 

In an instance similar to what the OP described at the Martini bar, in Johnny Rocket's we were seated next to 2 couples who had obviously been "over-served." One of the women was using foul language in a loud voice, and when her husband tried to quiet her down, she responded with "What are they going to do? Kick me off the @#%* ship?" A waitress overheard her and immediately picked up the phone. Within minutes security and another ship's officer appeared and asked the woman to leave. She was yelling and cussing, and finally screamed "But I already ordered dessert and I'm not leaving till I get my ice cream." We couldn't help but laugh when the waitress scooped some ice cream into a Styrofoam cup and told her to "take it to GO!" After the annoying woman left with security, the officer returned to Johnny's Rocket's and personally went from table to table and apologized to the other guests for having been exposed to her "unpleasant behavior." We were very impressed! That's exactly what should have occurred when the Celebrity passenger passed out at the bar.

[CU64]

Jakensshleysmom - generally with the package you will not even see a bar slip. Sometimes you will see one and sometimes you won't. So I just carry an awful lot of singles and five dollar bills with me and I tip cash on each drink unless it's a situation where I want to give maybe five or $10 to someone such as the dining room waiter. Being pleasant and generous to service people has always worked for me. But then again I once was a service person. And I understand the importance of tips. And I'm also Irish so I tend to get along with bartenders. :) since you also understand the bartending business, I trust you will have no problems.

 

Please and thank you without an entitlement attitude usually works!

Bab

[4774Papa]

When we were on Century, last month, we noticed that there simply weren't as many bartenders/servers as our last Century cruise. We did not have the drink package, so it was a little strange, having to go in search of a drink. However, DH took a page from your book, Matt, and got to know a couple of bartenders at the Pool Bar, early in our cruise. He had good service there, after that! ;)

 

And, while I would have no idea about what the bartenders (or anyone else onboard) is being paid -- my observation is that they are definitely over-worked, as a result of the bev package's popularity. :(

I worked in service jobs in hotels and restaurants while in college and was constantly busy. I got the job done. Did some people have to wait at peak times, yes, but I never felt overworked. From what I see with the wait staff, they are no more overworked than was I 35 or more years ago.

 

Perhaps things are different for these 5 day cruises? I just haven't seen it.

[wwcruisers]

Perhaps things are different for these 5 day cruises? I just haven't seen it.

 

Our recent Century cruise was actually a b2b -- a 3-niter, followed by an 8-niter. Didn't notice any difference in service between the two cruises -- with one exception. The 3-niter immediately followed a dry-dock, and a fairly major change-up in crew. So, there were a few service glitches, while the new crew members settled in. But over-all, we did notice a scarcity of bar servers on both legs of the b2b.

[Christine Frances]

I would much prefer to get my own drink at the pool rather than been harassed like we were on NCL - it was like every 5 minutes they would be by pushing drinks. It drove us crazy:(

 

 

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[Scrappytraveller]

Hi Scott, we met way back in 2009 on the millenium. ;)

I can vouch for you here, you were perfectly nice guys with no negative attitude. I think you've made some really valid observations. You were lucky to be in Blu, you didn't see that this decline is very evident in the MDR as well.

 

 

- I suspect that with the new PICK YOUR PERK campaign, X may have renegotiated the compensation packages for bar employees. I say this because, for the FIRST TIME EVER ON ANY CRUISE, we witnessed several (about a half dozen) bartenders who were visibly angry throughout our sailing. No smiling, no thank you -- slamming bottles and appearing completely overwhelmed. This didn't do much to enhance our experience.

.

 

 

I can't agree more about this. First day on the solstice in September, the guy at the molecular bar was foul. First day on the eclipse dec 28th, the pool bartender who served us was grumpy and unfriendly. Martini bar staff are not fun and carefree like they used to be, they look grumpy a lot of the time (until they turn on the pouring show for the crowd to get some tips). I blame the 123 promo, no doubt. I actually prefer paying for drinks as I go.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing if there's a difference on my equinox transatlantic in October, since 123 doesn't apply to TAs. You guys should come! I'm hoping for a wonderful experience like we had on the silhouette TA in 2012. It's celebrity's last chance with me I'm afraid...

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Iamthesea]

The CD was a Brit who went by the name J C . This was his last cruise before going on break.

For better or worse (mostly better) ,he was separated at birth from Ricky Gervais.

The activity director, Mark seemed good. He and J C were great on their morning TV show.

The Captain was Nikolas Christodoulakis who was a very very active presence on the ship.

He was very active but I must confess his very thick accent threw me.

 

Thank you. Too bad that JC will be on vacation. I love Ricky Gervais!

 

Constellation, just off today.

 

FABULOUS cruise, feel Celebrity does things just a bit better than other mass market lines. Made a dummy booking for March 2016 (Caribbean March dates not open yet) for my 50th bday--able to get free drink package plus OBC.

 

We did notice the lack of bar servers---never before have we seen bartenders also serve as servers (doing both jobs at the same time) But we had some wonderful servers/bartenders & we really enjoyed the drink package. And we're those drinks strong!

 

We LOVED BLU--AQ surely spoiled us. Our courses were never less than very good, typically excellent. We generally went with the waiters (John) recommendations & he did not lead us astray! Being from NE we r picky about steaks & I typically avoid them on cruises. But the filet was outstanding!

We were in 1104; occasionally noticed garlic/food smells in hall near elevator, but not unpleasant. We arrived daily between 6 & 7, never waited.

 

Enjoyed the energy of spring breakers; only once at muster did a group of young men offend us with their conversation better suited for a sports bar...

 

Smallest ship we have been on & we noticed much fewer crowds; but it was more difficult to get our beloved TX hold me game going in evenings.

 

This rivals our Allure cruise as a fav--but 5 days is too short!

 

Good to hear a good review. Could you answer my questions about who is onboard? What Captain, Cruise Director and, Social Hostess did you have this past week?

[NLH Arizona]

I would much prefer to get my own drink at the pool rather than been harassed like we were on NCL - it was like every 5 minutes they would be by pushing drinks. It drove us crazy:(

 

 

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I totally agree.

[HokiePoq]

If Celebrity really has cut the bar staff because of the uptick in Bar Packages, that is not a good thing, and comes off as a little bit "darker" than a pure business decision. Since Celebrity monitors these boards, maybe they will get the hint, and how will they know if it's not brought up?

 

Anyway, having done bar packages twice before on Celebrity, this is what I do: I generally choose two or three "favorite" bartenders and make sure to tip them. I also do this with the restaurant drinks server on the first night. I generally do not have a problem with getting good service. And, by the way, I always tip ship bartenders beyond the 15% that is added automatically, no matter what cruise line.

 

No matter what, very much looking forward to my Connie cruise in 2 days. With two exceptions, all of my cruises have been good cruises.

 

This is what we do on other lines and will definitely do that on our upcoming Celebrity cruise. Does anyone know how the receipt looks? Is there a place for a tip added or does one need to carry cash just for that? We have the beverage package....is the receipt the same as usual?

[Nanny2Trey]

Reading all your posts, am I ever unenthusiastic about our first X cruise coming up. almost makes me wish I hadn't decided to give Celebrity a try.

 

We were on Constellation in mid Feb. We ate in Blu and it was very good. Had no problem getting any beverages any time we wanted. We were on deck 11 in 1138. No food smells in our room or on our aft balcony. Occasionally we could smell the pizza in the hall way. The Captain was out and about and quite entertaining. We had a wonderful time. Took two first time cruisers with us and they had so much fun we booked again for next Jan. Hope you have as much fun as we did!!

 

Linda

[Iamthesea]

This is what we do on other lines and will definitely do that on our upcoming Celebrity cruise. Does anyone know how the receipt looks? Is there a place for a tip added or does one need to carry cash just for that? We have the beverage package....is the receipt the same as usual?

 

No receipt with the beverage package. ;)

[The_Big_M]

Depends on what luxury means to each individual, as to if they feel Modern Luxury has indeed lessened the luxury.

 

You could say that to the previous poster too, who was being replied to. As to whether "modern" really means having less bar staff.

[Germancruiser]

Even with all the " ajustments" the " X " Brand made over the years one still get´s a hell of lot for the money spend in my opinion! Luxury is a word that also get´s " ajusted " over the years. What once was a " luxury" is nowadays the common thing we are used too. If you want real , over the top luxury- well one has to pay for it!

I still have my problems with the loud music- but that seems to be taken care of from the Miami Headquaters, so I will so for myself in a month!

As for these drinking packages- I sure am not a penny pincher but one pays the tip in advance when you buy the package- so when I am satisfied with a bar tender, waiter etc. I tip a little extra at the end of the cruise, I never would have to schlepp these many Dollar Bills around!

[Cruise Raider]

Reading all your posts, am I ever unenthusiastic about our first X cruise coming up. almost makes me wish I hadn't decided to give Celebrity a try.

 

We absolutely love Celebrity and have also sailed with them beginning in 2000. Just an example of the specialness of this incredible cruiseline:

I surprised my DH on his 60th birthday with a trip on the beautiful Equinox. From the very start of the cruise, we were treated like celebrities. At the martini bar on the first day, I was commenting on how I pulled off the surprise of a lifetime (and yes, this was during the 123 promotion). The bartender inquired about his birthday and name....we thought nothing of it when we went back every evening. So, his birthday was actually 6 days into the 10 night cruise. When we went to the martini bar before dinner on his birthday, we couldn't figure out why the bartender wasn't paying any attention to us. He was obviously busy at the other end of the bar, though....so no rush imposed on our part. He was busy painting the inside of a martini glass with chocolate ...writing out the words 'Happy Birthday Kenny' on the inside of the glass. WOW!! Talk about making a special effort to not only remember the day of his birthday but also his name. This is the kind of customer service that goes above and beyond.

Now, for one, I must be the only person that likes the louder music ...it just lends itself to the atmosphere to me. I have never felt it was inappropriate. I absolutely loved when they had entertainment in the central area. Everyone got up on their feet just singing and dancing to the music...regardless of the deck. Hey...they were even dancing in the elevators. Just an entire ship full of people having a great time. I love it ... they make life fun .... they make you feel special!! :)

[Gracie115]

No receipt with the beverage package. ;)

 

That's correct. Once they see your seapass card with the package indicated on it they don't print a receipt. Just another of the nice things about the package....:)

[dandee2]

The March 3-8 2014 sailing was our first with Celebrity (Constelation). We cruised twice before on Windstar. We enjoyed our cruise to Cozumel and Key West and have no regrets about our choice. The demografic was perfect ( a bit of everything) and the drinking age kids did behaved (for the most part).

 

We dined in the MDR and can say enough of our waiter and Asst (Cyrel-table 442) and also at Tuscan Grill. The ship is very clean.

 

The shows were good. If I want better, I go to the Big City theatre.

 

We had 2 teen with us and they enjoyed their first cruise immensely.

 

We don<t know what cruises were like 20-30 years ago but this one was great.

 

Cheers

 

Dandee2

[scott in maine]

Hi Scott, we met way back in 2009 on the millenium. ;)

I can vouch for you here, you were perfectly nice guys with no negative attitude. I think you've made some really valid observations.

 

Hi there, Scrappytraveller! Thanks for reminding me about our wonderful sailing on Millie -- what a perfect cruise that was! Sure hope all is well on your end!

[scott in maine]

I don't know how you can say your comments are wholly true when they are your subjective opinion.

 

Oh, how frustrating is this to me. It seems that some simply want to either poke holes into others' statements or simply have a need to be cross. If one goes back and rereads my initial post, I think one will find that there's not all that much subjective opinion there.

 

There can be no debate that waitstaff in entertainment venues has been sharply reduced. By at least half. That's just factual.

 

There can be no debate that the steeldrum bands are gone and that the music volume in all venues was significantly higher than what we'd ever encountered before. While I didn't carry a personal deciblemeter with me, I think it's very safe to say this is just factual.

 

There can be no debate that we encountered, for the first time on any X cruise, a number of disgruntled front line employees. They weren't overtly rude to us, but we observed bartenders who appeared absolutely overwhelmed slamming bottles and not making eye contact with patrons. The sole table waiter in the coffee bar appeared furious throughout our cruise and regularly mumbled to herself in her native tongue. That's just factual.

 

X significantly overserved a patron in the Martini Bar on our last day at sea to the point where she passed out at the bar, laid her head on the bar itself and remained there at the dinner hour for all to see. The barstaff did *NOTHING* to address the matter. It was me who called security from the house phone near the elevator and before they arrived, she'd vomited all over. That's just factual.

 

I really don't like cataloging these issues and I won't do so moving forward. Again, I'll state that we still feel as if we got great value from this cruise and that the overall experience was very good. But it's absolutely fair for me to be able to point out that so much of the little 'magic' that sold us on X as a brand in the beginning has quickly eroded away. The overall product is still very solid -- I'm not a complainer by nature. But on this sailing, we observed so many changes (most of them tied to staffing reductions in some way) that made the overall experience somewhat less than they'd historically been.

 

From where I'm sitting, that's a shame. But, in the end, RCL is running a business - it's that simple. If this new direction allows them to consistently fill ships at profitable prices, then this will be the course of the future. From what I've read, RCL in recent years has, indeed, been tinkering with the X brand trying to fine tune what it will look like moving forward. My personal hope is that they don't completely lose sight of the value that so many of us place on the LITTLE THINGS.

 

[stepping off soapbox]

Edited March 14, 2014 by scott in maine

[chamima]

We are just back from 2 weeks on the Eclipse followed immediately by a week on the new Royal Princess.

The Eclipse is a beautiful ship but it was very obvious from the 2 cruises being so close that there was a much lower crew per passenger ratio (I hope I'm stating it correctly - trying to say more passengers for every crew member) on Celebrity.

Everyone was nice, friendly, polite, etc. but they all seemed to be stretched just a little thinner and running to do the next thing.

This was the most obvious in Blu. The staff was constantly running, meals came out VERY slowly, Maitre D' and assistant were re-setting tables and helping to serve meals and there was just a constant hectic atmosphere. This was most glaringly obvious at our first dinner on Princess when the wait staff were all walking (vs. running) and could actually take the time to talk to passengers.

 

I thought Celebrity was supposed to be a small step up from Princess but it seemed to be just the opposite.

Just wondering if this is a cost-cutting measure on Celebrity in general or just happened on our cruise.

We are long time Princess cruisers who thought we were moving over but after these two cruises it looks like we may stick with tried and true.

 

Please, I am not looking for an argument - I just want to know if anyone else has noticed this lately?

 

Oh, how frustrating is this to me. It seems that some simply want to either poke holes into others' statements or simply have a need to be cross. If one goes back and rereads my initial post, I think one will find that there's not all that much subjective opinion there.

 

There can be no debate that waitstaff in entertainment venues has been sharply reduced. By at least half. That's just factual.

 

There can be no debate that the steeldrum bands are gone and that the music volume in all venues was significantly higher than what we'd ever encountered before. While I didn't carry a personal deciblemeter with me, I think it's very safe to say this is just factual.

 

There can be no debate that we encountered, for the first time on any X cruise, a number of disgruntled front line employees. They weren't overtly rude to us, but we observed bartenders who appeared absolutely overwhelmed slamming bottles and not making eye contact with patrons. The sole table waiter in the coffee bar appeared furious throughout our cruise and regularly mumbled to herself in her native tongue. That's just factual.

 

X significantly overserved a patron in the Martini Bar on our last day at sea to the point where she passed out at the bar, laid her head on the bar itself and remained there at the dinner hour for all to see. The barstaff did *NOTHING* to address the matter. It was me who called security from the house phone near the elevator and before they arrived, she'd vomited all over. That's just factual.

 

I really don't like cataloging these issues and I won't do so moving forward. Again, I'll state that we still feel as if we got great value from this cruise and that the overall experience was very good. But it's absolutely fair for me to be able to point out that so much of the little 'magic' that sold us on X as a brand in the beginning has quickly eroded away. The overall product is still very solid -- I'm not a complainer by nature. But on this sailing, we observed so many changes (most of them tied to staffing reductions in some way) that made the overall experience somewhat less than they'd historically been.

 

From where I'm sitting, that's a shame. But, in the end, RCL is running a business - it's that simple. If this new direction allows them to consistently fill ships at profitable prices, then this will be the course of the future. From what I've read, RCL in recent years has, indeed, been tinkering with the X brand trying to fine tune what it will look like moving forward. My personal hope is that they don't completely lose sight of the value that so many of us place on the LITTLE THINGS.

 

[stepping off soapbox]

 

It's not just you.

I started a thread with the post quoted above as we noted the same thing.

What I neglected to say in my post was that we have previously sailed on the Solstice three times (also in Aqua) so the difference from those cruises was also glaring.

We found two fantastic servers in the Molecular Bar on the Eclipse and so stayed there .

The main point of my thread was to say that the reduction in crew was noticeable and that, hopefully like the loud music issue, Celebrity will re-visit that decision.

Edited March 14, 2014 by chamima

[BosoxI]

I assume you were in an aft room on Deck 11 because when we were in 1116 on Connie just a couple months ago we never smelled anything from the deck below, we would and will book this deck again whenever on an "M" class ship.

 

Also, as LSimon reported drinking bottled not tap water on the ship will help more than the reduction of salt in the food. I used to have the same issue with ankle swelling but not since drinking only bottled water on ships, just another reason Aqua is great because they provide it for free.....:)

 

No, we were in 1117 and the hallways reeked from the odors coming up the stairwell. Fortunately, once inside the cabin, there was no problem.

 

We did drink mostly bottled water but in the restaurants we drank regular water along with wine. Maybe San Pellegrino is in order next trip. It's certainly worth a try. I've been off the ship for a day and a half and my ankle's back to normal.

[Gracie115]

No, we were in 1117 and the hallways reeked from the odors coming up the stairwell. Fortunately, once inside the cabin, there was no problem.

 

We did drink mostly bottled water but in the restaurants we drank regular water along with wine. Maybe San Pellegrino is in order next trip. It's certainly worth a try. I've been off the ship for a day and a half and my ankle's back to normal.

 

Maybe it's being on that side of the ship, I don't know.

 

It always takes a week or so for the water weight to go away for me ...WAY longer that that for the more "solid" weight I always gain on a cruise.....lol:D

[awhfy]

We are just off Equinox, had premium beverage package. Only place we had difficulty getting drinks was in the casino! There didn't appear to be any servers unless a pit boss called them over, may have been the new casino management (weren't impressed, we spent a lot less time (& money) there than in the past.

 

We had wonderful bar service in buffet, MDR & all the bars. My DH did tell our waiter on the first night that he'd like to have a bar waiter come to the table each evening. Not a problem, you could set your watch by him! Molecular Bar - indulgence - stunning

 

We were on a 10 night cruise so didn't see many changes. We love the Connie, but am leery of 4-5 night itineraries, maybe the issues were more short itinerary rather than a Celebrity changing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[need2bespoiled]

Well I have to put my 2 cents in too. We did the TA on the Connie in November. We are big Martini bar people. For the number of people at the bar there is not enough waitstaff.

There wasnot what I would call a bar back, the person who make sure there are glassses, runs for missing items ect. At times there were no bartenders at the bar, because there were running for more glasses, or wine or booze. The bar waiters were scarce, if I sat at a table for sure I would be without a drink, I learned very quickly to get my drink from the bartender. For elite happy hour it got even worse, people shoving tickets in the bartenders faces, hollering for what they wanted. I dont blame the bartenders, I think they are over worke and stressed.

In the restaurant I always asked our server for a barwaiter. I did not wait till I would see one and try to catch their attention. I also make it know the the server in the dining room, I will probably order drinks every night, so if they could just please show up so I can order.

I agree with a lot of other posters that there seemed to be more staff available in the past. I have even offered to help the bartender when they were busy, that got a good laugh. Lastly I think a please and thank you to the bartender goes a long wait. I try to treat them the way I want to be treated.

Norma

 

We were on the same cruise, but showed up at the Martini Bar a bit later, and had great service, every night, thought there was lots of staff (often 3 batrenders and a back) so maybe when you went was justa really busy time. It could happen at any bar.

 

Happy Sailing,

Jenna

[wallysdtr]

Oh, this makes me sad to read! As the OP, please know that this was NOT AT ALL my intention. Please go back and reread what I've written. I'm a long time loyalist just bemoaning some recent changes with some long-standing traditions, but I also stated that we had a truly delightful cruise and that I'd do it all again tomorrow.

 

Celebrity is a little like HAL in that, as brands, they've both made real efforts to preserve some of the long-standing traditions that made travelling by ship special -- especially nice food, guests that enjoy being dressy, gracious service, and subdued, artful environments. I think the reality is that while a great deal of us deeply value these traits, the economic reality may be that tomorrow's core customer may not see these as important as we. Time marches on and things evolve. They must. Celebrity is a business and, as such, it has a responsibility to fine tune its offerings to attract tomorrow's customer while not alienating today's.

 

That was the thrust of my posting here. I gave specifics so that long time X fans (like me!) would understand the specifics of my recent experience, but I suspect that they'll all tell you that you're going to have a fabulous time on *ANY* Celebrity ship. They're all beautiful and still our very favorite.

 

Scott,

Hello from Sue and Kevin!

For fellow cruisers, we were on the same trip as Scott and agree with his comment about the bartenders. At the Martini bar, there was one bartender we started calling the grumpy old man. He was downright ornery. We missed the drunk lady at the Martini bar but heard all about it later from one of the younger bartenders. Sad that Scott had to call security but what a kind thing to do.

We loved Blu and felt our waiter JP was fabulous. We did tip JP extra because of the excellent service and tending to my husband's request for extra appetizers. JP shared his email with us and I will be sending him pics that we have of the 3 of us the last night of the cruise.

We only attended one show and that was the comedy routine with James Stephens III. Funny, very talented guy that I hope we can see again.

We did book the Reflection for next March and wished we could have squeezed another in before that but work, family, etc doesn't allow for that this time.

The people we met on this ship were great. Couldn't have asked for a better time with "new friends".

Sue