Pathetic response to complaint from Celebrity

[TopofWorld]

Hi to all. Please allow me to vent my anger and dissapointment with regards to Celebrity and their response to a post-cruise complaint. Everything I write here is a summary of my personal and family's thoughts on our Bermuda cruise, so no need for flaming. First timer on Celebrity (5th cruise though), family of 4, 2 cabins (balcony and inside) no elite status or club member etc. After the cruise, it took me several attempts to contact them via the website (is it 2014 for their IT or the Middle Ages???) and/or email (I live in Europe and calls are costly even to 800 numbers). They were quite late in responding - not an issue given the load of custotmer contacts. HOWEVER, their response can only be considered as a well rehearsed canned response that not only failed to address the actual complaint but is also insulting since it is condescending and clearly shows that customer service is not a priority to them. In short it was - blah blah blah..... we do not care about your complaint ... blah blah blah, please cruise with us again. Had they addressed the issue properly then it would be the end of it. Please do keep in mind that this is the only cruise that failed my family's expectations miserably in many aspects - even my young daughter questioned my statement that this is the sister company of RCCL and is considered a better one.

 

Lesson learned from all this: Many cruise companies favor their repeat cruisers (expected and accepted). My feeling at this end of the cruise is that only Celebrity does this at the expense of service to first-time cruisers. Probability to return: zero.

[DebbieMacG]

You've told us the outcome of your complaint, why not tell us what the problem was and how celebrity handled it?

 

Blah blah blah doesn't mean anything!

[TopofWorld]

Blah blah blah referred to the reply form Celebrity - many words, forming nice sentences of no value or meaning whatsoever. Just a well rehearsed empty gesture.

The problems with the cruise were of 2 types: (a) Mediocre service in many ship venues (can not be substantiated or proven - just a personal feeling, that is why I did not elaborate on those). I do realize that other Celebrity cruisers enjoy superb service, so I chalked it up to bad timing and do not pursue it. Many insignificant things that alone are immaterial but when added together they can ruin a perfect vacation package. (b) The major complaint which can be substantiated will be handled by Visa or BBB (Better Business Bureau) so please allow me not to elaborate further at this time.

Thanks for letting me vent my dissapointment. With all the Celebrity hype here, we did expect a far better product for the price paid.

Edited August 28, 2014 by TopofWorld

[vulcan1971]

Even further than the "blah, blah, blah... " is that no one will understand how/why Celebrity didn't respond to you in a way you seem to not appreciate.

 

We (the general Cruise Critic audience) HAVE NO IDEA what the issues were, or how Celebrity responded, or why you think the response did not go far enough.

 

I'm not even sure the purpose for you to vent was served other than to bring curiosity about your situation to others in such a way that no one can provide any constructive suggestion or path forward on what options may be available to you.

 

Maybe try starting this over with some details about your issues and quotes from the official response and we can get on with this.

 

Or better yet, next time (if there is a next time) you can hand write the response you would have typed here, but then you start a fire and burn the letter. That will give you great pleasure without torment to anyone else.

 

:rolleyes:

 

 

Sent from my Samsung Note 2 on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network

Edited August 28, 2014 by vulcan1971

[monicajay]

If you plan on venting you really need to spit it out.

 

Otherwise, your post makes little sense to others. We have no idea what the problem is.

 

Sorry you were disappointed by your cruise.

[biker1972]

Sounds much like you got a "Sorry for your loss" reply and a "There is nothing that we can do for you" response. But since we know little there is nothing that we can do for you here at CC and we are sorry for you loss.:confused:

[QE2_Fan]

Yeah you're post on very cryptic in that we can only assume something awful happened, it we don't really know anything to comment factually on the matter.

 

But I can picture the type of canned and generic response you speak of, have got one of them myself from Celebrity and it just rattles my cage as it's clear they have not taken the time to digest or comment on the specific issues raised.

 

Funnily enough my issues were directly related to the Middle Age technology they attempt to Palm off as a cutting edge website [emoji15][emoji16]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited August 28, 2014 by QE2_Fan

[Project_gal]

I am sorry that you feel that your complaint was not answered satisfactorily by Celebrity. We have ALWAYS found that, when we have sent negative feedback, Celebrity have thoroughly investigated the issues and responded in a satisfactory way. However, you have to understand that the ships are at sea and thorough investigation takes time. You cannot expect any feedback to be taken seriously without it taking time to resolve.

[TopofWorld]

Okay, yielding to popular demand::)

Usually if my wife says to me she has a complaint to make, I ask her to tell me what the complaint is. I try to avoid telling her that I empathize with her, or that I hope she does not let the negative outweigh the positive and that she will still stay with me...... Celebrity did not even bother to ask what the problems were. They simply said they "empathize with me" (what???), felt sorry about the misinformation I received (from aliens I guess, not from Celebrity itself), but they are still hopeful I will travel with them again. Here is a small sample of the overall issues that if seen separately they are all very minor, but you do not expect so many to happen in a single cruise.

1. One time room service took 1:20 mins, food was beyond inedible

2. Ordered breakfast in cabin. Time slot 9:00-9:30. Called me up at 9:45 to ask me if everything was to my liking, but breakfast was not even delivered yet.

3. Do Not Disturb Sign was not respected by the cabin attendant. Kept knocking to ask if he could tidy the room. What is the sign for?

4. My daughters like to sleep late. The cabin attendant asked about 2-3 times every day if he could wake them up to make up the room.

5. Service at Bistro on 5 was hit and miss. One time both the steak and the potato dish were hot on the outside, completely cold inside. My daughter asked then for pasta instead which came after we all finished our lunch and when she asked for grated cheese, they did not have any.

6. Pool chair policy never enforced by the pool batlers.

7. Every night I had to ask in the MDR for an extra glass with ice - I like my drinks with much ice. Usually I had to ask twice, and one time I had to ask three times and eventually tracked down the other table waitress to get the ice.

8. Purchased 4 non-alcoholic drink packages (premium) and the description said fresh juice was included. In my country fresh implies "freshly squeezed" not "freshly opened plastic bottle". When I asked aboard the ship about it, they could not care any less.

 

I do realize that these are minor issues. But when you pay extra for a cruise line that is supposed to be one of the best mainstream lines, you do expect value for your money. Thank you all for listening to me (or reading this). Apologies for the wrong "vent" however, trust me this is the first time I deal with a cruise a month after the cruise has ended.

[wallie5446]

From across the room, looking in. We were not there, correct, we can try an sense the frustration. Those are all 'time in point' issues, and there is no way to deal with them after the fact. Should have been addressed when they occurred.

 

So are we to assume you are wanting a future cruise credit? Why? You have already stated you are 'one an done'.

Edited August 28, 2014 by wallie5446

[The_Big_M]

8. Purchased 4 non-alcoholic drink packages (premium) and the description said fresh juice was included. In my country fresh implies "freshly squeezed" not "freshly opened plastic bottle". When I asked aboard the ship about it, they could not care any less.

 

I realise this won't help you now, but for reference it does include 'actual' freshly squeezed juice (although only orange, and grapefruit - not sure if you thought it included all fruit?)

 

To get it though, you need to go to the buffet though, they don't make it fresh at every bar.

 

As the poster above said, to be fair to Celebrity, what did you want them to offer in response? A lot of your issues were individual things that might take feedback, or are just minor things. I can understand your expectations built up by "Modern Luxury" but the reality is that they're not incredibly different from other lines. (And writing a letter isn't going to make them respond that they will up their standards to the luxurious, as much as we might wish it were that simple!)

[cruisestitch]

I doubt that this is the first time the OP has written a complaint letter. Form letters in reply are the norm. I think that the expectation that Celebrity's response would be any different was unrealistic.

[hcat]

Some of the issues noted could have been brought to the attention of housekeeping dept, room svc, guest relations, maitre d..in.Bistro and Mdr...hotel director...going up the chain of authority if issue is not resolved

 

sometimes the initial form response to a complaint is followed by an E mail or phone call

 

wondering what the major complaint is that will be handled by BBB and credit card company......?????

[Wine-O]

I agree these issues should have been immediately brought to someone's attention. I always make it a point to know who the Hotel Director and Housekeeper are. Most of those problems could have been corrected on the spot.

[GaryfmCol]

Okay, yielding to popular demand::)

Usually if my wife says to me she has a complaint to make, I ask her to tell me what the complaint is. I try to avoid telling her that I empathize with her, or that I hope she does not let the negative outweigh the positive and that she will still stay with me...... Celebrity did not even bother to ask what the problems were. They simply said they "empathize with me" (what???), felt sorry about the misinformation I received (from aliens I guess, not from Celebrity itself), but they are still hopeful I will travel with them again. Here is a small sample of the overall issues that if seen separately they are all very minor, but you do not expect so many to happen in a single cruise.

1. One time room service took 1:20 mins, food was beyond inedible

2. Ordered breakfast in cabin. Time slot 9:00-9:30. Called me up at 9:45 to ask me if everything was to my liking, but breakfast was not even delivered yet.

3. Do Not Disturb Sign was not respected by the cabin attendant. Kept knocking to ask if he could tidy the room. What is the sign for?

4. My daughters like to sleep late. The cabin attendant asked about 2-3 times every day if he could wake them up to make up the room.

5. Service at Bistro on 5 was hit and miss. One time both the steak and the potato dish were hot on the outside, completely cold inside. My daughter asked then for pasta instead which came after we all finished our lunch and when she asked for grated cheese, they did not have any.

6. Pool chair policy never enforced by the pool batlers.

7. Every night I had to ask in the MDR for an extra glass with ice - I like my drinks with much ice. Usually I had to ask twice, and one time I had to ask three times and eventually tracked down the other table waitress to get the ice.

8. Purchased 4 non-alcoholic drink packages (premium) and the description said fresh juice was included. In my country fresh implies "freshly squeezed" not "freshly opened plastic bottle". When I asked aboard the ship about it, they could not care any less.

 

I do realize that these are minor issues. But when you pay extra for a cruise line that is supposed to be one of the best mainstream lines, you do expect value for your money. Thank you all for listening to me (or reading this). Apologies for the wrong "vent" however, trust me this is the first time I deal with a cruise a month after the cruise has ended.

 

 

Was there ANYTHING you did like?

 

Didn't the POSITIVES outweigh the NEGATIVES?

Every cruise, I have taken the POSITIVES always win out.

Even 9 months on a NAVY ship as a crewmember.

The POSITIVES outweighed the NEGATIVES... :rolleyes:

[cwb27]

Okay, yielding to popular demand::)

Usually if my wife says to me she has a complaint to make, I ask her to tell me what the complaint is. I try to avoid telling her that I empathize with her, or that I hope she does not let the negative outweigh the positive and that she will still stay with me...... Celebrity did not even bother to ask what the problems were. They simply said they "empathize with me" (what???), felt sorry about the misinformation I received (from aliens I guess, not from Celebrity itself), but they are still hopeful I will travel with them again. Here is a small sample of the overall issues that if seen separately they are all very minor, but you do not expect so many to happen in a single cruise.

1. One time room service took 1:20 mins, food was beyond inedible

2. Ordered breakfast in cabin. Time slot 9:00-9:30. Called me up at 9:45 to ask me if everything was to my liking, but breakfast was not even delivered yet.

3. Do Not Disturb Sign was not respected by the cabin attendant. Kept knocking to ask if he could tidy the room. What is the sign for?

4. My daughters like to sleep late. The cabin attendant asked about 2-3 times every day if he could wake them up to make up the room.

5. Service at Bistro on 5 was hit and miss. One time both the steak and the potato dish were hot on the outside, completely cold inside. My daughter asked then for pasta instead which came after we all finished our lunch and when she asked for grated cheese, they did not have any.

6. Pool chair policy never enforced by the pool batlers.

7. Every night I had to ask in the MDR for an extra glass with ice - I like my drinks with much ice. Usually I had to ask twice, and one time I had to ask three times and eventually tracked down the other table waitress to get the ice.

8. Purchased 4 non-alcoholic drink packages (premium) and the description said fresh juice was included. In my country fresh implies "freshly squeezed" not "freshly opened plastic bottle". When I asked aboard the ship about it, they could not care any less.

 

I do realize that these are minor issues. But when you pay extra for a cruise line that is supposed to be one of the best mainstream lines, you do expect value for your money. Thank you all for listening to me (or reading this). Apologies for the wrong "vent" however, trust me this is the first time I deal with a cruise a month after the cruise has ended.

 

 

Was this your review of the cruise you're discussing now?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=43651623&postcount=1

 

While your review does touch on some points that you have mentioned in this thread there are things (such as the cabin attendant) that you seem to now have a problem with...

 

I'm not sure what to think here.

Edited August 28, 2014 by cwb27

[Hapytocruise]

In fairness to the room steward who would not be bugging you if he had any other cabins but your children's left to attend to let them take a pass on the cabin "morning" tidy up.

[Orator]

"Steak and Potato dish at Bistro on 5" must be one of the new menu items. What else has been added?

Difficult to piece together your experience, but I most certainly agree with others that any problems should have been resolved as close to the event as possible. Much of what you report is due to an improperly trained cabin steward. In fact, some of the duties you mentioned are usually performed by the Assistant Steward who might have been fairly new. Talk to him first and indicate your preferences. If that doesn't work speak to the Assistant Head Housekeeper for your section. I can almost guarantee that you would not need to go beyond that level. There is no excuse to be treated in less than a professional manner by customer service. There have been major delays reported in hold times and Celebrity needs to address that issue. Naturally we don't know what you actually said and how they responded, but they do record all calls and that could be recovered for future investigation.

Send an e-mail to: contactmichael@celebrity.com if you need to discuss your concerns. Don't know if you used the word, or inferred "compensation". That would be a complete no, no for them.

[Hlitner]

It is always sad to hear of anyone who did not enjoy their vacation/holiday cruise experience. But as others have said, those type of complaints are best resolved while onboard by contacting Guest Relations, talking with your steward, and if necessary, elevating the issues to a higher level within the Hotel Department. Sending this type of complaint letter to Celebrity (or most cruise lines) is only going to get a canned response.

 

We did find one complaint a real issue. Cabin stewards work long hours, but do have a set schedule. Most work in the morning until around noon, and then they return to work in the late afternoon and work until around 9. If passengers refuse to let stewards clean their cabin in the morning, then it becomes a real problem for both the stewards and the passenger. If you wanted your cabin cleaned late, it usually is just a matter of asking the steward if they can clean your cabin last (very late in the morning). If the passengers insist on staying in bed until very late (say noon or even later) then they should expect that their cabin is only going to be cleaned at the evening turn-down time. And since stewards have less time in the evening (and often do not vacuum at that time) this can be problematic.

 

But when we read these kind of complaints about stewards, our heart goes out to the steward. The OP never indicated if they had a civilized discussion with their steward(s) about some kind of cleaning schedule. We have been on a lot of cruises (over 3 years crusing) and have always (except one time) found stewards very amenable when asked to do things at a certain time of the day...as long as it is within their working hours.

 

Hank

[CruisingChick]

Send an e-mail to: contactmichael@celebrity.com if you need to discuss your concerns. Don't know if you used the word, or inferred "compensation". That would be a complete no, no for them.

 

You beat me to it. I was going to suggest they send an e-mail to Mr. Bayley's office.

 

I would be upset also if the Room Steward kept bugging my kids 2-3 times every day. You should have spoke to their supervisor after day 2.

 

In any event I am so sorry that you encountered all these problems on your sailing. Unfortunately, bad cruises happen, even on Celebrity.

[TopofWorld]

To all those who asked what I expected: definitely not money (since all such issues were perrception-based) or future credit since my financials / distance / air travel cost do not allow me the luxury of cruising every year - hence a waste of the future credit. I do realize that all these are minor issues and I was not about to go to Customers Relations on a daily basis or call them on a daily basis. But at least I expected more than a typical "who cares" response. As I said, the issues were bypassed and we enjoyed our vacation, what made me angry is the pathetic response from Celebrity that clearly indicates to me they did not value my business - hence the vent here. No intention at all to question the fact that other cruisers have a superb time. We did not. I politely raised the issues to Celebrity. They "empathized" with me and failed even to ask what was wrong according to my perception. End of story.

[Celebrity Cruises]

To all those who asked what I expected: definitely not money (since all such issues were perrception-based) or future credit since my financials / distance / air travel cost do not allow me the luxury of cruising every year - hence a waste of the future credit. I do realize that all these are minor issues and I was not about to go to Customers Relations on a daily basis or call them on a daily basis. But at least I expected more than a typical "who cares" response. As I said, the issues were bypassed and we enjoyed our vacation, what made me angry is the pathetic response from Celebrity that clearly indicates to me they did not value my business - hence the vent here. No intention at all to question the fact that other cruisers have a superb time. We did not. I politely raised the issues to Celebrity. They "empathized" with me and failed even to ask what was wrong according to my perception. End of story.

 

Hello there,

 

We apologize for the response that you received. We saw your bullet points, and will pass it onto the proper departments. Additionally, we're sorry that you didn't enjoy your trip, but hopefully you won't experience these issues again if you do decide to sail with us again.

 

Lastly, our Social Media team can always be reached at concerns@celebrity.com. However, we don't have access to any other emails that may have been sent, so anything sent here will need to have a reservation number, and a full description so that we can route it to the proper channels.

[NLH Arizona]

Okay, yielding to popular demand::)

Usually if my wife says to me she has a complaint to make, I ask her to tell me what the complaint is. I try to avoid telling her that I empathize with her, or that I hope she does not let the negative outweigh the positive and that she will still stay with me...... Celebrity did not even bother to ask what the problems were. They simply said they "empathize with me" (what???), felt sorry about the misinformation I received (from aliens I guess, not from Celebrity itself), but they are still hopeful I will travel with them again. Here is a small sample of the overall issues that if seen separately they are all very minor, but you do not expect so many to happen in a single cruise.

1. One time room service took 1:20 mins, food was beyond inedible

2. Ordered breakfast in cabin. Time slot 9:00-9:30. Called me up at 9:45 to ask me if everything was to my liking, but breakfast was not even delivered yet.

3. Do Not Disturb Sign was not respected by the cabin attendant. Kept knocking to ask if he could tidy the room. What is the sign for?

4. My daughters like to sleep late. The cabin attendant asked about 2-3 times every day if he could wake them up to make up the room.

5. Service at Bistro on 5 was hit and miss. One time both the steak and the potato dish were hot on the outside, completely cold inside. My daughter asked then for pasta instead which came after we all finished our lunch and when she asked for grated cheese, they did not have any.

6. Pool chair policy never enforced by the pool batlers.

7. Every night I had to ask in the MDR for an extra glass with ice - I like my drinks with much ice. Usually I had to ask twice, and one time I had to ask three times and eventually tracked down the other table waitress to get the ice.

8. Purchased 4 non-alcoholic drink packages (premium) and the description said fresh juice was included. In my country fresh implies "freshly squeezed" not "freshly opened plastic bottle". When I asked aboard the ship about it, they could not care any less.

 

I do realize that these are minor issues. But when you pay extra for a cruise line that is supposed to be one of the best mainstream lines, you do expect value for your money. Thank you all for listening to me (or reading this). Apologies for the wrong "vent" however, trust me this is the first time I deal with a cruise a month after the cruise has ended.

Did you bring these issues up to the appropriate person on the ship? If so, were they addressed onboard the ship? What exactly are you looking for from Celebrity? Is it an apology or reimbursement for your cruise? Did you enjoy any part of your cruise?

[amazinglife]

I feel your flames. Some people on here are just nasty. I realize you may have been unclear in the beginning but there is no reason for rudeness. People say things on here that they would never say if they had a conversation with you face to face. They hide behind their screen and are bullies.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Hello there,

 

We apologize for the response that you received. We saw your bullet points, and will pass it onto the proper departments. Additionally, we're sorry that you didn't enjoy your trip, but hopefully you won't experience these issues again if you do decide to sail with us again.

 

Lastly, our Social Media team can always be reached at concerns@celebrity.com. However, we don't have access to any other emails that may have been sent, so anything sent here will need to have a reservation number, and a full description so that we can route it to the proper channels.

 

Bravo !