Celebrity quality is slipping

[ChucktownSteve]

We've sailed Summit twice. The most recent time was this past August to Bermuda. Even after the "refit" I found the ship to be getting old and somewhat tired.

 

On the first cruise, the entire three elevator bank mid-ship on the aft side was malfunctioning or not operating the entire 14 day cruise. On the most recent cruise about one year later, two of those elevators were still malfunctioning.

 

On the August cruise we had an aft facing Aqua Class cabin on deck 11. We lost all electrical power for several hours. When it was fixed, the bathroom florescent light would have to flicker about 17 times before it would come on. When I asked the cabin attendant, he asked the electricians and they told him that was normal. I have not been on a ship before or since that that was normal.

 

There were at least three occasions when the head flushing system did not operate. The bathroom door also had to be repaired.

 

We still had an enjoyable cruise and I didn't let that ruin it for me. However I did notice that service was not as good the second Summit sailing as it was the first time or as it was on Constellation in between the two. Service probably has more to do with who's on contract at the time. But the ship's condition is something else.

 

The Equinox I sailed earlier this month was in fantastic condition and the crew was phenomenal.

 

However YMMV.

Edited December 27, 2016 by ChucktownSteve

[marycruz]

We have been loyal to Celebrity since 2005, before that 6 cruises with Princess, 1 with H.A.L.

 

In our opinion (fully appreciating others may not agree) Celebrities food quality, entertainment and service be it in dining venues, stateroom stewards, bar service, while still fine, is no where close to what it was 11 years ago, and with each cruise the quality continues to slip further.

 

Celebrity was for us once a premium or upper level cruise experience, but now is another mass market line, no better or worse than Princess or H.A.L.

 

I have been an advocate for voting with your wallet if Celebrity is not meeting expectations and we're taking our own advice and giving Oceania our January 2017 cruise business.

 

Surprisingly the cost is comparable, and we're really looking forward to seeing if the food and service will meet our expectations.

 

We know Celebrity isn't going to improve quality, so for us it's either accept lower standards or move on to other options. Complaining isn't working.

 

We'll give Oceania a try.

 

Amen to that. We started sailing on Celebrity in the 90's when they were the best at sea (food an service always exceeded expectations back in the day). We still go on Celebrity but have tried a lot of other lines now looking for the old Celebrity experience. The closest was Crystal!

[hcat]

We've sailed Summit twice. The most recent time was this past August to Bermuda. Even after the "refit" I found the ship to be getting old and somewhat tired.

 

On the first cruise, the entire three elevator bank mid-ship on the aft side was malfunctioning or not operating the entire 14 day cruise. On the most recent cruise about one year later, two of those elevators were still malfunctioning.

 

On the August cruise we had an aft facing Aqua Class cabin on deck 11. We lost all electrical power for several hours. When it was fixed, the bathroom florescent light would have to flicker about 17 times before it would come on. When I asked the cabin attendant, he asked the electricians and they told him that was normal. I have not been on a ship before or since that that was normal.

 

There were at least three occasions when the head flushing system did not operate. The bathroom door also had to be repaired.

 

We still had an enjoyable cruise and I didn't let that ruin it for me. However I did notice that service was not as good the second Summit sailing as it was the first time or as it was on Constellation in between the two. Service probably has more to do with who's on contract at the time. But the ship's condition is something else.

 

The Equinox I sailed earlier this month was in fantastic condition and the crew was phenomenal.

 

However YMMV.

 

Sadly, they can do alot cosmetically but once the systems start to fail, not much helps (Radiance on Royal is a perfect example)..We sailed Summit sev times when she was young...including rt Hawaii..but on our pre refurb Bermuda cruise aging was apparent...Nice cruise but the ship felt old...Infinity and Connie....same feeling altho Connie still holding her own.

[ghstudio]

The one thing that surprised me was when we asked our room attendant for more shampoo and conditioner because it wasn't restocked at all during the week, she said she would have to look for some because they were out. She brought shampoo but no conditioner.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Funny how the ships vary so widely. We just returned from a cruise on the Equinox and every day our room steward would give us another shampoo and conditioner. We finally begged him to stop after we had 7 of each... Sounds like the Summit order got mis=delivered to the Equinox :)

[phoenix_dream]

No. the Purell on the ships doesn't help with noro.

 

It doesn't matter at all what others do. ALL that matters is what you do. If you don't put your exposed hands to your mouth area you won't get it. Period

 

It ends with each individual person and what they do with their own hands.

 

If I get noro, I am to blame for it. Period.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. First, the CDC states that Purell does indeed help with noro, although it is not 100% effective. Check their website if you don't believe me.

 

But more importantly, you can wash your hands from morning until night and still get noro. First of all, when someone is sick (need I be more specific?) particles of the virus float in the air surrounding that person. It only takes a tiny, tiny bit of this virus to catch noro as it is so contagious. You may happen to go into a restroom right after someone has been ill, not realizing it, and the virus is still floating around the room. boom - you are exposed. Or you wash your hands thoroughly, then pick up the fork in the dining room that the waiter (who has noro but doesn't yet experience symptoms) has touched and boom - you are exposed. I could go on and on. Hand washing certainly helps and only a fool does not do so, but this is definitely a case of not blaming the victim. Noro is EXTREMELY contagious and very easy to catch, hand-washing or no hand-washing.

Edited December 27, 2016 by phoenix_dream

[4774Papa]

"food cannot be served on a carpet".

 

What the heck does this mean?

 

I have seen many posts here on cc that the end of cruise brunch was cancelled because of health regulations that they could not serve the food over a carpet. Didn't make sense to me then either.

[ChucktownSteve]

This noro, hand washing vs. Purell methodology is a "running" thing that won't end...butt you never know for sure. :eek: :rolleyes:

[Nanny8]

We are currently on the Summit sailing from Puerto Rico. We have found this cruise to be well under the standards we have come to expect from Celebrity. Embarkation day was a free for all. People were made to stand in line outside in the heat. We saw a person in wheel a chair and one that told the staff they were diabetic asking if they could just sit in the AC no way. Once the doors were open and check in complete seating was limited again no one tried to organize the mob that tried to rush through one door to board the ship. The rest of the cruise consisted of cold food at the buffet,empty hand sanitizer stations on top that Norovirus broke out.People vomiting in the halls, common areas and in one of the dining rooms.This caused a removal of all books, throw pillows,and bedding dust covers from the staterooms.The rooms had to be sprayed with a machine as well as wiping down the walls.Dining became slow in all the dining rooms,we dined in AQ classes Blu. Nothing could be touched sugar,salt and pepper packets were handed out with tongs. The trip continued with our closet door falling off its hinges in the middle of the night. During the time spent at the pool no for at least two hours came to see if a drink was wanted. When we told guest relations of our concerns they couldn't be bothered. They did screw the closet door back on.We have many cruises under our belts most with Celebrity but this was pathetic.

We just returned home from the same cruise (summit Dec 17-24th). I was extremely surprised, saddened and disappointed by the recent cruise. We knew something was up on day two but things went from bad to worse rather quickly and when we noticed staff wearing masks and spraying (think fumigator) outside your house only this was outside your room, you begin to wonder "what the heck is going on?". We asked the guest relations, if we should be evacuating the ship and they told us that everything was well under control.

They drained the pools and hot tubs to sanitize them (which I appreciated) however they didn't tell anyone that this was happening and guest relations weren't even sure why this was happening until we inquired.

The entire cruise was very strange as noted above with things disappearing from the room and throughout the ship. You could see staff spraying the railings and the tour buses (again wearing masks) and handing out gloves etc to the tour operators. We managed to stay in our room as much as possible and ordered room service to keep away from the virus. On the occasion that we did venture out, we did not see anyone vomiting but again we didn't venture out much in order to stay well.

 

As well, the accessible lift to the rooftop terrace was out of order the entire cruise and this was promised to be repaired the first day. It was not fixed the entire cruise.

Our cupboard door broken in half (literally in half) when we opened it. They came down, took it off and glued it back together and replaced it. I pointed out that the other was was cracked and was likely going to break off as well, they just shrugged.

 

This was our 3rd time on the Summit and it has been our favourite ship up to this point. I cannot say how disappointed I was in this cruise.

 

We could not get a hot cup of coffee anywhere on the ship. It was ridiculous. This was a common complaint. At one point the coffee was not even lukewarm it bordered on cold.

 

The only saving grace was that the food in the main dining room was good (yes we did go there for our evening meal (at 5:30 to make sure we were first in and first out) Our server (Yogi) was excellent and he made the trip pleasant. We also luckily had booked a balcony because I had recently suffered a broken foot and knew I wouldn't be getting on many excursions so a balcony was a nice distraction. Good thing because as it turns out it may have saved us from getting very sick.

 

This entire cruise was very different from our previous Summit experiences even if you remove the Norovirus part. The service was far below their usual standards. I will think twice before booking on this ship again. My husband heard another couple say that they were on the ship in April and they couldn't believe how bad it was now compared to then.

 

I feel awful because I just spent a good amount of time defending the Summit to someone else on a different board (regarding their recent cruise). Now I have to eat crow. Ours was the worst vacation I have been on in years. Not sure what has happened to Celebrity but I'm not too eager to book with them in the near future.

[Nanny8]

I have a bridge in Brooklyn I am selling at below market price. Perhaps you might be interested in purchasing it?

 

Regarding the "cold food at the buffet", "People vomiting in the halls, common areas and in one of the dining rooms" and "closet door falling off its hinges in the middle of the night", this sounds like he must have been on North Korea's first cruise ship, the anti-luxurious Mangyongbong, not the Celebrity Summit. Take a look at this article for more details on a different approach to cruising: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2032602/North-Korea-launches-cruise-liner.html

 

 

 

We were on the same ship. I don't know who the OP is but I can say we had similar experiences on this same Summit, same sailing. One of our cupboard doors snapped in half when I opened it.

I am not a picky person. I used to run an orphanage in Africa so I have pretty easy going, laid back standards and consider cruising to be one of the nicest ways to travel. I feel very lucky to be able to afford a cruise however, I have to say, we were quite disappointed in almost every aspect of this cruise (3rd time on the Summit). At times it felt like we were on a very different type of vessel.

We did not witness the vomiting but we stayed in our room as much as possible to avoid any illness but the strangeness of the entire experience was very different. A little better communication would have been appreciated, other than reminding us that washing our hands prevents illness and to report to sick bay if we experienced any symptoms. The ominous spraying of hallways and wearing of masks and gloves by the staff was all very eery and left travelers with a bad taste. pardon the pun

[caribill]

But more importantly, you can wash your hands from morning until night and still get noro. First of all, when someone is sick (need I be more specific?) particles of the virus float in the air surrounding that person. It only takes a tiny, tiny bit of this virus to catch noro as it is so contagious. You may happen to go into a restroom right after someone has been ill, not realizing it, and the virus is still floating around the room. boom - you are exposed. Or you wash your hands thoroughly, then pick up the fork in the dining room that the waiter (who has noro but doesn't yet experience symptoms) has touched and boom - you are exposed. I could go on and on. Hand washing certainly helps and only a fool does not do so, but this is definitely a case of not blaming the victim. Noro is EXTREMELY contagious and very easy to catch, hand-washing or no hand-washing.

 

And, per the CDC, someone who has had noro is still contagious for up to ten days after all symptoms have disappeared.

[snyniew]

We were on the same ship. I don't know who the OP is but I can say we had similar experiences on this same Summit, same sailing. One of our cupboard doors snapped in half when I opened it.

I am not a picky person. I used to run an orphanage in Africa so I have pretty easy going, laid back standards and consider cruising to be one of the nicest ways to travel. I feel very lucky to be able to afford a cruise however, I have to say, we were quite disappointed in almost every aspect of this cruise (3rd time on the Summit). At times it felt like we were on a very different type of vessel.

We did not witness the vomiting but we stayed in our room as much as possible to avoid any illness but the strangeness of the entire experience was very different. A little better communication would have been appreciated, other than reminding us that washing our hands prevents illness and to report to sick bay if we experienced any symptoms. The ominous spraying of hallways and wearing of masks and gloves by the staff was all very eery and left travelers with a bad taste. pardon the pun

 

As someone who was on the week prior I would have to say that the outbreak of Noro was the culprit for the change in service from in the past. I had nothing but great service my entire week. However if the room stewards and other staff were busy trying to keep Noro from spreading even further this would affect the service. Also it's quite possible some of the staff got it as well so they could have been short staffed.

 

As for the maintenance things on an older ship are bound to break. You're pointing out things that may break when they were probably busy dealing w/ the Noro outbreak wasn't a top priority as keeping everything clean. I did see them spraying down the halls and stairways on our sailing but that usually was at 3:30/4 am when I was going back to my room after dancing all night.

 

I would give them another chance as Noro isn't something they can control and are just trying to play catch-up and keep it from spreading to other passengers. Passengers are really to blame when there is a Noro outbreak, unfortunately for you it began our our sailing but you had the greatest affect from it.

[Bootstrap77]

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. First, the CDC states that Purell does indeed help with noro, although it is not 100% effective. Check their website if you don't believe me.

 

But more importantly, you can wash your hands from morning until night and still get noro. First of all, when someone is sick (need I be more specific?) particles of the virus float in the air surrounding that person. It only takes a tiny, tiny bit of this virus to catch noro as it is so contagious. You may happen to go into a restroom right after someone has been ill, not realizing it, and the virus is still floating around the room. boom - you are exposed. Or you wash your hands thoroughly, then pick up the fork in the dining room that the waiter (who has noro but doesn't yet experience symptoms) has touched and boom - you are exposed. I could go on and on. Hand washing certainly helps and only a fool does not do so, but this is definitely a case of not blaming the victim. Noro is EXTREMELY contagious and very easy to catch, hand-washing or no hand-washing.

 

Agree. Very well written.

Direct contact is the most common route but Aerosolized particles can occur as well. In addition, hand washing with soap and water must be done properly in order to be effective. Most people don't wash for nearly long enough, and I've witnessed some people not using soap at all!!!

You have to use soap and water to be most effective - washing ALL surfaces of your hands....palms, nails, knuckles, in between fingers......and not just for a few seconds. it has to be a good lather and a good rinse. Rings are a notorious breeding ground for germs.

[ghstudio]

"food cannot be served on a carpet".

 

What the heck does this mean?

 

It means that when someone in Celebrity was asked "why was the grand buffet dropped", they "shot from the hip" with an answer that either a) sounded right or b) they heard from someone else who guessed.

 

There is obviously no such restriction on buffets (think of hotel events), but it sounds better than saying "we cut costs, we eliminated the grand buffet".

Edited December 28, 2016 by ghstudio

[sofietucker]

I disagree that ONLY pax are to blame. Unfortunately, we have become v. knowledgeable on this & have seen it sometimes among our cabin attendants, crew, or MDR servers (green/pale, acting dizzy, suddenly rushing away & returning, poor service). One clue that it's present is when partway thru a cruise, pax are no longer allowed to serve themselves in the cafe.

 

Now, on each cruise, upon first entering our cabins after boarding, we always use chlorox wipes on every hard surface one might touch in our cabin (incl phone, TV remote & ice tongs!). But this time, we both began noro symptoms at the airport on disembarkation day from Summit (Dec. 17th) which carried thru over 5 days, got better & then he got it again! (A previous episode does not protect you & can be contagious w/ no symptoms for up to a week before & after.)

 

Aerosolized particles being a cause is exactly correct: when your enter a bathroom/toilet up to 20 minutes after a noro victim has flushed or vomited, you can breathe it in and get it--even it you touch no surface with your skin! And you may not know you've been exposed.

 

Not to mention getting it during shorex from other pax touring on previous days! Wash hands, don't touch your face, AND use a hand sanitizer. And as folks have previously posted, words to the wise...

Edited December 28, 2016 by sofietucker

[El Crucero]

It means that when someone in Celebrity was asked "why was the grand buffet dropped", they "shot from the hip" with an answer that either a) sounded right or b) they heard from someone else who guessed.

 

There is obviously no such restriction on buffets (think of hotel events), but it sounds better than saying "we cut costs, we eliminated the grand buffet".

 

WOW, know the whole facts before posting. Public health codes vary from State to State. California has very strict public health codes and the carpet thing is a violation of California code. So no, it is not permitted in California, whether in a hotel or on a ship. I can't speak about other States.

Edited December 28, 2016 by El Crucero

[ChucktownSteve]

WOW, know the whole facts before posting. Public health codes vary from State to State. California has very strict public health codes and the carpet thing is a violation of California code. So no, it is not permitted in California, whether in a hotel or on a ship. I can't speak about other States.

 

Yeah ghstudio, what's wrong with you? Don't you know the world and "all the ships at sea" revolve around California laws? :rolleyes:

"GOOD NIGHT, Mrs. Calabash--wherever you are!"

Edited December 28, 2016 by ChucktownSteve

[davekathy]

..."GOOD NIGHT, Mrs. Calabash--wherever you are!"

 

Now that's funny. I haven't thought of Jimmy Durante in ages.

Edited December 28, 2016 by davekathy

[ChucktownSteve]

Now that's funny. I haven't thought of Jimmy Durante in ages.

 

You did realize I mixed Walter Winchell & Jimmy right?

 

"I got a million of 'em!"

 

The young-uns don't have a clue what we're talking about.

Edited December 28, 2016 by ChucktownSteve

[Cuervosar]

Well after thinking about this thread, not very often mind you as there are so many similar to digest, methinks the title of the thread needs to be changed to:

 

Quality of X's passengers have slipped....

 

;-) Just a thought, mine only and not meant to offend either...

 

I think you may be on to something here.

 

People have different expectations on a cruise. Some expect such an insane level of personal service, it reminds me of the film "Arthur" with Dudley Moore. Unless you have the Royal, Presidential, or Owners Suite, Hobson is probably not on the boat following you around and attending to every need.

 

Then, since Hobson is not there for these people, it comes down to their own social skills, professionalism, intelligence, grace, and problem solving abilities to work out any difficulties that may arise.

 

I'm pretty sure there is some correlation with those unable to figure out how paragraphs and spelling work and those whose first response to not having a pepper shaker on the table is to march right to guest services and attempt to start an insurrection.

 

Just a theory of course.

[davekathy]

You did realize I mixed Walter Winchell & Jimmy right?

 

"I got a million of 'em!"

 

The young-uns don't have a clue what we're talking about.

 

No I didn't but I do now. ;o)

Edited December 28, 2016 by davekathy

[ChucktownSteve]

No I didn't. I thought that was his tagline. But I do now. ;o)

 

Walter Winchell's full line was, "Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America from border to border and coast to coast and all the ships at sea. Let's go to press."

Edited December 28, 2016 by ChucktownSteve

[davekathy]

Walter Winchell's full line was, "Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America from border to border and coast to coast and all the ships at sea. Let's go to press."

 

And speaking of America another one of his ...America- love it or leave it.

[El Crucero]

• Yeah ghstudio, what's wrong with you? Don't you know the world and "all the ships at sea" revolve around California laws? :rolleyes:

Actually, in some cases they do. I had a chat with one of the Hotel Managers on a Celebrity ship last year. I asked why the table-side muesli had been eliminated in Blu. He told me that table-side food is not allowed in carpeted areas because the carpets cannot be cleaned in an expeditious manner in food preparation consumption areas to meet health standards particularly with Noro-virus becoming more of a problem on cruise ships. In addition the muesli carts (and apparently the grand buffet) didn't have sneeze guards.

 

 

So, he told me that any Celebrity cruise that begins, ends, or calls at any US port complies with the most strict health standards which is often California. He said it is an effort to be consistent throughout the line and avoid confusion among the guests. He said that Celebrity ships with an itinerary exclusively in foreign waters and ports may do it differently depending on the Captain, Health officer, Hotel Manager, and the home office.

 

 

It has been reported on this Forum that some guests have had table-side muesli in Blu on US itineraries. And yes, we experienced that once, on the first day of the cruise that began in San Diego. I inquired about that and was told it was an error by the manager of Blu. In fact we had no more table-side muesli for the rest of the voyage which ended in Canada.

 

 

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry: you will someday."

[ChucktownSteve]

It has been reported on this Forum that some guests have had table-side muesli in Blu on US itineraries. And yes, we experienced that once, on the first day of the cruise that began in San Diego. I inquired about that and was told it was an error by the manager of Blu. In fact we had no more table-side muesli for the rest of the voyage which ended in Canada.

 

Good for you. Bad, bad Celebrity. Lucky thing they have someone like you cruising to help them.

 

Yes I was aware of the sneeze guard being the reason of no muesli table side. And others scoffed at ghstudio for saying the grand buffet was cancelled for the carpet.

[warmwinds]

WOW, know the whole facts before posting. Public health codes vary from State to State. California has very strict public health codes and the carpet thing is a violation of California code. So no, it is not permitted in California, whether in a hotel or on a ship. I can't speak about other States.

 

Isn't the MDR carpeted? Don't they serve 3 meals a day there? I don't understand what the distinction is with a buffet.