I can't believe it!

[Iamthesea]

I've been biting my tongue for 2 days.

Has anyone considered that either this waitress or the Maitre D' was on some type of "last warning before you're fired" type of notification and they were worried that if these people successfully left dinner they might lose their jobs.

Calling security and shifting the "blame" to the passengers deflects their problems.

That's the only thing that makes any sense to me.

 

If the Maitre'D currently onboard the Reflection is the same female that we had in early April, then I can believe that she was on her last straw to the firing squad and would have been afraid of losing her job. She was horrible and rude to our party of five. :eek:

 

The main concern to me is why these waiters, assistant waiters, the Maitre'D, etc., are so frightened into insisting that the passengers give all A's on the survey. If Celebrity truly wants all A's, then they should stop having the crew and staff push for the marks, push for buying merchandise, push for upgrading drink packages, or push for eating in Specialty restaurants. Celebrity should let their employees do their jobs to the best of their ability without worrying about getting lower marks because the food is awful.:rolleyes: Celebrity should strive once again to present great food to their customers. The two should not go hand in hand. If food is bad, but the service is excellent, we should be able to express that opinion on the survey without hurting someone's future with the cruiselines. :(

Edited April 27, 2015 by Iamthesea

[Newbury newbie]

Let's wind up this thread so we can all get back to the increase in the drink package thread.

 

LOL..........a far more serious issue!! :)

[hammo]

Yes , like the new molecular replacement now requiring extra payment for drinks even with the Premium Package. :mad:

[Pushka]

Yes , like the new molecular replacement now requiring extra payment for drinks even with the Premium Package. :mad:

 

Do we know that yet?

[Wine-O]

We know a couple who got up and walked out of Blu because of the very slow service, and the Maitre'd chased after them and apologized. Certainly didn't send for security. That's very, very strange.

[hammo]

Do we know that yet?

 

Hey Pushka

Thats the report on the other thread ,

[Pushka]

Hey Pushka

 

Thats the report on the other thread ,

 

 

Thanks. Im finding it hard keeping up with all the drink threads. :p

[chamima]

We know a couple who got up and walked out of Blu because of the very slow service, and the Maitre'd chased after them and apologized. Certainly didn't send for security. That's very, very strange.

 

 

At least he followed and tried to apologize.

Last year (2014) we got up and walked out of Blu after about an hour and a half with no dinner and NO ONE NOTICED!!! We had ordered so you'd think that the someone might have noticed when they tried to deliver the meal - or maybe they never did. That was also a one-off bad cruise that we hope won't happen again.

 

 

Yes , like the new molecular replacement now requiring extra payment for drinks even with the Premium Package. :mad:

 

Sadly, it's true.

I have a friend currently sailing on the Eclipse and he reported the drinks at the new World Class Bar are $13 and $15. He specifically asked and was told that the $15 drinks are charged $2 + 18% tip if you have the premium package. :(

Pretty sad when paired with the increase in package prices.

[Pushka]

Looks like it is Martini Bar then!:p

[Iamcruzin]

Sadly, it's true.

I have a friend currently sailing on the Eclipse and he reported the drinks at the new World Class Bar are $13 and $15. He specifically asked and was told that the $15 drinks are charged $2 + 18% tip if you have the premium package. :(

Pretty sad when paired with the increase in package prices.

 

Looks like another bar that will sit empty.

[ralphd]

Only hearing one side of the story and very little of it???? Still too many assumptions in the thread.

[Iamcruzin]

If the Maitre'D currently onboard the Reflection is the same female that we had in early April, then I can believe that she was on her last straw to the firing squad and would have been afraid of losing her job. She was horrible and rude to our party of five. :eek:

 

The main concern to me is why these waiters, assistant waiters, the Maitre'D, etc., are so frightened into insisting that the passengers give all A's on the survey. If Celebrity truly wants all A's, then they should stop having the crew and staff push for the marks, push for buying merchandise, push for upgrading drink packages, or push for eating in Specialty restaurants. Celebrity should let their employees do their jobs to the best of their ability without worrying about getting lower marks because the food is awful.:rolleyes: Celebrity should strive once again to present great food to their customers. The two should not go hand in hand. If food is bad, but the service is excellent, we should be able to express that opinion on the survey without hurting someone's future with the cruiselines. :(

 

These surveys are all a bunch of B.S. anyway. All they do is look at the overall score and don't do anything to improve the situation. If you have to beg people to book a restaurant as well as offer a discount common sense should tell you that maybe you are charging too much. Lower the price and let these people work at providing service. I don't even bother filling out the survey. It's just a waste of time. If I have a complaint I will deal with it at the time of the situation. If I'm provided with exceptional service I will leave a tip or provide an individual comment card.

[Iamthesea]

These surveys are all a bunch of B.S. anyway. All they do is look at the overall score and don't do anything to improve the situation. If you have to beg people to book a restaurant as well as offer a discount common sense should tell you that maybe you are charging too much. Lower the price and let these people work at providing service. I don't even bother filling out the survey. It's just a waste of time. If I have a complaint I will deal with it at the time of the situation. If I'm provided with exceptional service I will leave a tip or provide an individual comment card.

 

We do the same (although have never filed a complaint.) I do fill out the survey's, but it chaps me when I have had great service in the dining room, but mediocre meals, and have to say the food was excellent because I don't want our waiter demoted. :mad:

 

BTW- So far, we have never had bad service or meals in BLU.

 

Also, I tried my first Premium Drink Package on my last cruise. Although I didn't need to upgrade for the most part, I did enjoy getting a few drinks not in the Classic Package. Because of the World Class Bar coming (we didn't care for the Molecular drinks) I had planned to upgrade for the next few cruises. If drinks are extra, even with the Premium Package, I think I will stick with the Classic Package.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Iamthesea

[DinaS]

We do the same (although have never filed a complaint.) I do fill out the survey's, but it chaps me when I have had great service in the dining room, but mediocre meals, and have to say the food was excellent because I don't want our waiter demoted. :mad:

 

BTW- So far, we have never had bad service or meals in BLU.

 

 

Why on earth would you LIE and say the food was excellent when it was only mediocre???

 

If others are doing this as well, then it's no wonder the food is going downhill!! :mad:

 

The waiter isn't cooking the food. Why on earth would food quality cause a waiter to be demoted? As long as they provided excellent service and offered you a different meal, or to have the chef re-make your meal to please you, the service is still excellent even though the food may be sub-par.

 

If there is no way to separate a service quality comment from a food quality comment, then that's a VERY serious issue (and a very strange one).

 

If you can't make the comment fit the actual service quality and food quality received, you should just leave it blank instead of lying.

 

Calling the food excellent when it was nothing more than mediocre is ridiculous! :mad:

[miched]

Dining in Blu we walked out after our main entree without having any desert. The next night our server asked us why we walked out because the maitre d noticed we didn't stay for desert and thought it because our service was too slow or bad. We told him that we don't normally have desert as we don't feel they are worth extra calories. That night as we were leaving the Maitre d stopped us and asked why we didn't stay for desert and we told him. He said that we shouldn't worry about it as we are on a cruise and we replied that we work too hard staying trim and fit for us to indulge in sweet tasteless calorie ladened artery cloggers that we don't have a taste for. He then offered to make something more "healthful". All he was trying to do was appease us and couldn't understand why we wouldn't stay for desert. He also said that it didn't look good because the other diners think that we are having a problem.

 

I think sometimes they try too hard and don't realize that it is nothing personal and afraid that it is.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[gergles]

Why on earth would you LIE and say the food was excellent when it was only mediocre???

 

If others are doing this as well, then it's no wonder the food is going downhill!! :mad:

 

The waiter isn't cooking the food. Why on earth would food quality cause a waiter to be demoted? As long as they provided excellent service and offered you a different meal, or to have the chef re-make your meal to please you, the service is still excellent even though the food may be sub-par.

 

If there is no way to separate a service quality comment from a food quality comment, then that's a VERY serious issue (and a very strange one).

 

If you can't make the comment fit the actual service quality and food quality received, you should just leave it blank instead of lying.

 

Calling the food excellent when it was nothing more than mediocre is ridiculous! :mad:

 

That is what was clearly established from the wait staff on our last cruise; the 'food in the MDR' rating affected their performance score, as does 'food in OV' even though the MDR waiters aren't even up there!

 

There are separate service ratings but apparently they are combined with the food ratings for overall ratings for the waitstaff. I'm not willing to punish the waitstaff by giving low food ratings when I know that is how they are evaluated (for better or worse.)

 

(For what it's worth, I found the food in the MDR excellent, certainly significantly better than the food on NCL or on most mainstream land-based restaurants, so I didn't have to 'lie', but I can understand why I would have. And, I guess I did a little re: OV - the food wasn't awesome but I gave it an 8 anyway so as not to ding the waitstaff.)

[Iamthesea]

Why on earth would you LIE and say the food was excellent when it was only mediocre???

 

If others are doing this as well, then it's no wonder the food is going downhill!! :mad:

 

The waiter isn't cooking the food. Why on earth would food quality cause a waiter to be demoted? As long as they provided excellent service and offered you a different meal, or to have the chef re-make your meal to please you, the service is still excellent even though the food may be sub-par.

 

If there is no way to separate a service quality comment from a food quality comment, then that's a VERY serious issue (and a very strange one).

 

If you can't make the comment fit the actual service quality and food quality received, you should just leave it blank instead of lying.

 

Calling the food excellent when it was nothing more than mediocre is ridiculous! :mad:

 

That is what was clearly established from the wait staff on our last cruise; the 'food in the MDR' rating affected their performance score, as does 'food in OV' even though the MDR waiters aren't even up there!

 

There are separate service ratings but apparently they are combined with the food ratings for overall ratings for the waitstaff. I'm not willing to punish the waitstaff by giving low food ratings when I know that is how they are evaluated (for better or worse.)

 

(For what it's worth, I found the food in the MDR excellent, certainly significantly better than the food on NCL or on most mainstream land-based restaurants, so I didn't have to 'lie', but I can understand why I would have. And, I guess I did a little re: OV - the food wasn't awesome but I gave it an 8 anyway so as not to ding the waitstaff.)

 

Thank you...I could not have said it better. ;)

[wallie5446]

Because of the World Class Bar coming (we didn't care for the Molecular drinks) I had planned to upgrade for the next few cruises. If drinks are extra, even with the Premium Package, I think I will stick with the Classic Package.

 

There is another thread where the comment was made that the pkg is working as it always has. The first $13 is covered by the Prem, anything over, $15-$13= $2.00 + .36 cent's for the 18% grat is what they have had to pay.

 

Looks like nuttin new, nuttin different.

Edited April 27, 2015 by wallie5446

[QE2_Fan]

There is another thread where the comment was made that the pkg is working as it always has. The first $13 is covered by the Prem, anything over, $15-$13= $2.00 + .36 cent's for the 18% grat is what they have had to pay.

 

Looks like nuttin new, nuttin different.

 

 

Agree, I'd be happy to try a few new cocktails at $13 and included in the pkg, and if they float my boat I might lash out on a few of the $15 ones and pay the extra $2. Not an expense worth complaining about. Always a chance they will up the cap on the premium pkg to fully cover them. Too early to say I'd suspect.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Iamthesea]

There is another thread where the comment was made that the pkg is working as it always has. The first $13 is covered by the Prem, anything over, $15-$13= $2.00 + .36 cent's for the 18% grat is what they have had to pay.

 

Looks like nuttin new, nuttin different.

 

Thanks...As long as I can get the drink of my choice without having to pay an upgrade fee, I am happy and will give the bar a try. In Molecular, we were not allowed to order any other drinks, but the specialty concoctions. We tried asking for a G&T while my DH had one of the concoctions and were rudely told no. So I tried one of their drinks...twice...and thought they were awful...especially having to pay for it. I don't really care for most Martini's, either. I am a light drinker. ;)

[ORV]

There is another thread where the comment was made that the pkg is working as it always has. The first $13 is covered by the Prem, anything over, $15-$13= $2.00 + .36 cent's for the 18% grat is what they have had to pay.

 

Looks like nuttin new, nuttin different.

 

Not that I'm too worried about a dollar or two but it is something new and something different. Mainly that in the Molecular bar all of the drinks have been covered by the Premium package. Now in the replacement bar apparently not all of the drinks are covered completely back the Premium. Quite new, quite different.

 

Having said that I certainly am willing to give the new World Class Bar a fair shot. I always enjoyed the Molecular though.

 

There is a difference in saying that food rated an 8 out of 10 is excellent, and that food that is considered "mediocre" is excellent.

 

Either way, if you can't be accurate when filling out a survey, then leaving a response blank would be better than LYING and saying something is EXCELLENT when it is MEDIOCRE.

 

For the future of Celebrity cruising, including your OWN enjoyment of your upcoming cruises on X, it will only HURT by calling mediocre food EXCELLENT.

 

You want to make sure your waiter gets good reviews, yet you don't care about everyone coming after you on a Celebrity cruise, and having to deal with mediocre food that Celebrity THINKS is excellent.

 

Seriously?

 

When you think about it - there are other ways to do this the RIGHT way.

 

Don't answer the survey questions if you cannot be HONEST. Write to Celebrity, call Celebrity, or talk to the Hotel Director while onboard. Give an exceptional waiter (and all exceptional service people) a wonderful comment card while on board, and don't respond to the survey.

 

Apparently you've never taken one of Celebrity's new electronic(only option) end of cruise surveys?

 

Yes you can do those things in your last paragraph, but the end of cruise surveys leave a lot to be desired. They are written to get the outcome that proves someone is doing everything right.

 

This whole survey thing everywhere I go annoys me. They're always trying to influence the outcome by telling you about it. When you buy a car the salesman does the same thing, when you have it serviced the service manager does the same thing. Same with hotels.

 

Here's a clue!! Just do your job to the best of your ability and I'll fill out the survey honestly and appropriately to my experience.

 

Just like Dinas point, how can a company fix anything without honest feedback.

[hulamoon]

I am not sure they are worth doing. We have always filled them out as it is apparent bonus and pay are tied to them, but I do not see that they want specifics.

 

The OP must be out of internet range and I expect will come back with more details. If she is in the middle of some kind of resolution it may make sense for her to wait.

[wwcruisers]

I think the OP DID provide all the details of the event that they could discern and even came back to say they were as "perplexed" as to why they were confronted as everyone on here.

I'm not going to go back and find it in the 7 pages of this thread but it's there.

 

I'm with those that hope they're in the middle of a resolution and waiting to post again until they know.

 

And, folks seem to be forgetting that the OP and her DH are on a cruise. They had an unexpected problem arise, and came here looking for guidance on how to proceed. Hopefully, they got some advice that worked for them -- and are now enjoying the rest of their vacation! Of course, I would love it if they could post a detailed review, when they get back. :cool:

Edited April 27, 2015 by wwcruisers

[Karynanne]

We are taking our first Celebrity cruise next month on the Reflection. I am setting my expectations very low after all I've read pertaining to the ship and service. I'm at the point just praying the food is fit for human consumption and that I can get decent service. We chose this cruise for the itinerary so the cruise is not as important as the stops.

 

 

 

We've been on 10 cruises and have never had a bad one. They all have been great and hopefully this one will be also.

 

 

We were on this same cruise, and found service to be quite good.

 

It's all about attitude. Specifically...yours. Sometimes things will go wrong, but as the song says, "Let it go, let it go".

[Host Walt]

A number of posts have been removed.

 

Quoting from our guidelines, with which all members agreed to comply in the registration process, " If you disagree with someone, respond to the subject, not the person."