Silhouette lost at sea?

[Shadow9612]

We send our laundry out 4 times on a 12 day cruise, We are Elite Plus so we each get two coupons. It allows us to travel with just carryons if we choose.

 

I am Elite and get 1 coupon. I find this a wonderful Elite Captain Club benefit and agree that it allows me to travel a bit lighter. Counting the points until Elite Plus - would love to be able to fly with carry-on :).

 

 

Grandgeezer, I'm always worried to send off any 'delicate' items....thoughts form your experience?

[Bo1953]

I fail to understand why people choose to argue and disagree with someones "OPINION". In reviewing this thread you'd think the OP was giving misinformation. I don't believe anything they state is wrong, they just view it differently than many of you.

 

To me their post simply shows the need for cruisers to fully investigate the cruiseline/itinerary they are planning on taking to make sure it meets their needs and expectations.

 

As my mother used to say, if you don't have anything good to say, keep quiet.

 

r - My Grandmother always said that to me and for some reason I always argued back... LOL

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

Well, I have a really legitimate complaint. Every time I have my pants or my wife's slacks pressed, they come back with the crease on the sides of the leg, not the front and rear. Invariably, we have to send the item back to have it redone. It is so distressing, I am almost brought to tears. I can't remember if other lines do the same, but I am ready to drop Celebrity and try something different!!!

 

You could try sneaking your own iron on to get it done, correctly.... :rolleyes:

[Fish Lover]

I fail to understand why people choose to argue and disagree with someones "OPINION". In reviewing this thread you'd think the OP was giving misinformation. I don't believe anything they state is wrong, they just view it differently than many of you.

 

To me their post simply shows the need for cruisers to fully investigate the cruiseline/itinerary they are planning on taking to make sure it meets their needs and expectations.

 

As my mother used to say, if you don't have anything good to say, keep quiet.

 

 

Totally disagree. The very nature of posting on social media is to invite public response.

If you don't want a response, don't post it on the internet.

[Fish Lover]

Well, I have a really legitimate complaint. Every time I have my pants or my wife's slacks pressed, they come back with the crease on the sides of the leg, not the front and rear. Invariably, we have to send the item back to have it redone. It is so distressing, I am almost brought to tears. I can't remember if other lines do the same, but I am ready to drop Celebrity and try something different!!!

 

Was this a serious complaint.....or sarcasm?

[ChucktownSteve]

Was this a serious complaint.....or sarcasm?

OMG That is SOOO funny that you had to ask.

 

Of course he was serious. hahahahahaha ;p

[hubofhockey]

I had no problem with the review at all and don't care about titles. I will say this. Like the OP, I had no issues with the Constellation, our first Celebrity cruise and have booked the Millennium for inside passage in Alaska. This is all about point of view and the Silhouette was some hits and some misses for Turbobob. He said that he's not writing off Celebrity and it may have been one of those cruises.

 

As for the Edge, from what I see, I am not excited at all. It's a ship geared to people who book suites and it's full of gimmicks. Some people eat that stuff up and I have no use for it. The latest things with the cruise lines are new gimmicks. I'd be happy if they focused more on the quality of the food, the entertainment, the service, and the basics. We did enjoy Aqua Class and Blu even though we know overpaid for it.

[cruise kitty]

Who sends their laundry out 3 times on a 12 day cruise?

 

On a typical 14 night cruise we'll send out 4 bags plus many individual items, that's how we keep our bags down to under 23 pounds each. :)

 

We know what to expect with our free or discounted bags of laundry, the good stuff gets sent out at full price.

[Mytravellove]

Comments like some I have read on this thread make a relative newbie like me hesitant to comment and yet, it is a free world and I don't intend to get intimidated by those who are 'Elite Plus Plus' or Zenith or whatever with over 10,000+ comments on CC. I am disappointed that someone would make comments like...the OP would need his own yacht or who sends laundry 4 times on a 12 day cruise. Like really? The OP was just commenting on his experience. I read his post and I read all the other replies to the OP's post. Some I found very informative and others very condesending.

I am new to Celebrity...only one cruise with them in April 2017, but I am going with them again in October 2017. This time in Concierge class. My travel agent has given me 2 dinners for 2 at the speciality restaurants. I would have assumed I could just go to the concierge desk and reserved my dinner times at the 2 speciality restaurants...I know better now that I may also be better off going to the restaurant directly to ensure i reserve my dinner time.

I enjoy reading CC posts, but we need to play nice. If we can't say something to someone's face, then don't say it at all.

[oliver1821]

I have been struggling with why our 12 day British Isles cruise was not more enjoyable than it was. It can't be the small stateroom because the cabins were just as small on the Constellation and we enjoyed those voyages. It can't be the service because from stateroom attendant through dining staff the service was great. Embarkation and disembarkation were flawless. I think the ship design is silly but that's not enough to be the problem, we enjoyed our voyage on the even sillier Anthem of the Seas just a month ago. Yet Silhouette was not enjoyable even with Elite and Concierge perks.

 

First thing that tweaked me was our Concierge. We stopped at his desk as soon as we had access to our cabin to make specialty dinner reservations for that evening and the next night - an "at sea" day - and were told it would be difficult but since we were flexible with timing he would see what he could do. He didn't. We had dinner at The Porch the first night, there was one other couple there, as walk-ins. The next morning I made dinner reservations at Murano for that evening and Q-Sine the next night at a table near the Guest Services desk. Not very difficult. We never heard from the Concierge.

 

Then there was laundry service. When I take shirts and pants to our local cleaners they are washed and pressed and returned on hangers. My first load of shirts and pants came back washed and folded (no ironing) at 5X the cost of my local laundry (yes, I expect to pay more but I also expect the same service). The second load came back washed and ironed (incorrectly ironed but ironed) and on hangers. The third load was washed and folded. They were all the same style shirt and pant....but the service was inconsistent and well below expectations. I call this a management failure.

 

Ships tours. We had only one tour where the tour service was unacceptable but multiple times when the ship's tour organization was flawed. Almost everyone on the Tattoo excursion understands the difficult logistics of moving that many people to and from shore on tenders and almost everyone on the excursion knows it could have been done much better by having the ship moored closer to the dock (as it was on Day 2 in Edinburgh) and using more tenders. The "ship" could have taken better care of those customers. We went on a number of long tours, tours that should have been the first ones off the ship to compensate for the length of the tour but two out of three times we barely made it back by "on board" time - and two busses on the same tour delayed the ship departing - because the start of the tour was late in the morning. I call this a management failure.

 

Venues for activities. Morning lectures on sea days were SRO, after the first time why weren't they moved to the empty theater? Afternoon trivia was SRO but we were told no other venue was available ...... maybe Tuscan Grill? On a ship this size there should be space for ship's activities that are appropriate for the size of the audience. I call this a management failure.

 

It's too early to write off Celebrity, based on one cruise and the hype for Edge, but I do think I am going to write off Silhouette because the current management does not seem to be interested in my business.

 

 

Hope she is not lost at sea going on her in October, 2nd time! Wonderful cruise line!

[turbobob]

Why you compare your local cleaners with ship board ;aundry is beyond me. Laundry on board is wash, dry, fold. Period. If nyou want pressing, then you need to indicate that and pay for it.

 

The ship's theater is often used for rehearsals during times when there is nothing planned for passengers. It is NOT empty and unused. You can't just change the venues after the daily is printed.

 

As for how close the ship is moored and how many tenders are used, there are numerous logistics (not in control of the ship) that go into that. Do you honestly think they moored further out just to make it a longer ride?

 

Tours? The ship doesn't run the tours. Local company's do. The ship waits for you if you return late. hat more can you possibly expect from the ship?

 

Your complaints are way off base.

 

Why compare local on-shore laundry with on-board laundry? Because on-shore laundry has to meet customer's expectations or the business quickly goes elsewhere. That's my point, this ship appears to have lost customer focus. I have sent out laundry on Princess, RCL, Azamara, Oceania, Seabourn, and Celebrity Constellation and this is the first time that things that should be washed and pressed did not come back washed and pressed.

 

As I mentioned on Day 2 the ship re-positioned and was moored 5 minutes closer to the dock. Five minutes closer and more tenders would have made the return to the ship better for most of the 700 people who went ashore. Most of the 700 customers stood in the rain for more than a hour.

 

Clearly the ship could not reschedule rehearsals, if they were being held, one hour earlier or later to accommodate the passengers, that would be too much of a burden.....

 

It is called "customer focus"

[turbobob]

turbobob, I must say your thread starter" Lost at sea" IMHO was just childish to say the least. Yes it caught my attention but seriously, the nonsense you wrote about troubled you for days. wow... I have read some of your past posts on CC and I was not surprised at what I read. It seems you are a very tough sell turbobob . You were not happy with Viking, even in the penthouse suite really??, and you were not happy on the Rhapsody. Can you honestly say the design of the Celebrity ships you find to be are note worthy being "silly" and the laundry service awful. Perhaps you should have asked for all your clothes to be pressed on hung on hangers, they will gladly do that for a fee. So I guess what I have to say to you before you decide to cruise on any line again is, having 27 Celebrity cruises under my belt and several other cruise lines also, I have had a few things that have bugged me but,who cares in the end? Just go on a cruise to enjoy and be thankful you can, don't look for the petty crap !!! I do hope you have many happy voyages in you future.

 

luvstosail

Boston Ma

 

That was Penthouse Veranda not Penthouse Suite it is comparable to RCL and other lines "mini-suite" (about 11 sq ft larger than a Concierge/Aqua cabin, and my major complaint was that we did not receive what was supposed to be part of that package...... again a customer service issue. I do admit that I am more motivated to write about the negative experiences, our voyage on the Anthem in July was just fine but I haven't made the time to comment on that, perhaps I should.

[Fish Lover]

Comments like some I have read on this thread make a relative newbie like me hesitant to comment and yet, it is a free world and I don't intend to get intimidated by those who are 'Elite Plus Plus' or Zenith or whatever with over 10,000+ comments on CC. I am disappointed that someone would make comments like...the OP would need his own yacht or who sends laundry 4 times on a 12 day cruise. Like really? The OP was just commenting on his experience. I read his post and I read all the other replies to the OP's post. Some I found very informative and others very condesending.

I am new to Celebrity...only one cruise with them in April 2017, but I am going with them again in October 2017. This time in Concierge class. My travel agent has given me 2 dinners for 2 at the speciality restaurants. I would have assumed I could just go to the concierge desk and reserved my dinner times at the 2 speciality restaurants...I know better now that I may also be better off going to the restaurant directly to ensure i reserve my dinner time.

I enjoy reading CC posts, but we need to play nice. If we can't say something to someone's face, then don't say it at all.

 

The OP was not just commenting on his experience. He came and posted complaints that are misplaced and lack perspective. Furthermore it is important that others comment back in order to provide perspective to others reading and contemplating their next cruise. So don't chastise those that have responded. If you don't want people to respond, then don't post here.

[Fish Lover]

Why compare local on-shore laundry with on-board laundry? Because on-shore laundry has to meet customer's expectations or the business quickly goes elsewhere. That's my point, this ship appears to have lost customer focus. I have sent out laundry on Princess, RCL, Azamara, Oceania, Seabourn, and Celebrity Constellation and this is the first time that things that should be washed and pressed did not come back washed and pressed.

 

As I mentioned on Day 2 the ship re-positioned and was moored 5 minutes closer to the dock. Five minutes closer and more tenders would have made the return to the ship better for most of the 700 people who went ashore. Most of the 700 customers stood in the rain for more than a hour.

 

Clearly the ship could not reschedule rehearsals, if they were being held, one hour earlier or later to accommodate the passengers, that would be too much of a burden.....

 

It is called "customer focus"

 

If you don't pay for pressing, you don't get pressing. It's very simple. They were providing laundry services not dry cleaning services. Land side laundry services don't press either. You are comparing apples and oranges.

 

Also, did you consider that the ship needs to account for tides, depth, other traffic? distance from any other ships? These things are not in the ship's control. Celebrity is also not in control of the weather.

 

I think you should abandon Celebrity and be happier on another cruise line. Then you can accuse them of being unfocused on customer service over things they can't control.

[Bo1953]

Comments like some I have read on this thread make a relative newbie like me hesitant to comment and yet, it is a free world and I don't intend to get intimidated by those who are 'Elite Plus Plus' or Zenith or whatever with over 10,000+ comments on CC. I am disappointed that someone would make comments like...the OP would need his own yacht or who sends laundry 4 times on a 12 day cruise. Like really? The OP was just commenting on his experience. I read his post and I read all the other replies to the OP's post. Some I found very informative and others very condesending.

I am new to Celebrity...only one cruise with them in April 2017, but I am going with them again in October 2017. This time in Concierge class. My travel agent has given me 2 dinners for 2 at the speciality restaurants. I would have assumed I could just go to the concierge desk and reserved my dinner times at the 2 speciality restaurants...I know better now that I may also be better off going to the restaurant directly to ensure i reserve my dinner time.

I enjoy reading CC posts, but we need to play nice. If we can't say something to someone's face, then don't say it at all.

 

m - you would be surprized at what some of us would say to someones face and when or where.... LOL

 

At any rate, welcome to X and CC's forum for them... please feel free to give input anytime on any topic you want to provide it on.

 

 

Sometimes I play badly in the sandbox without meaning to, I do try to return with an apology, as well.. :halo:

 

At any rate, welcome again and look forward to your input on many other postings around here..

 

bon voyage

[grandgeezer]

I am Elite and get 1 coupon. I find this a wonderful Elite Captain Club benefit and agree that it allows me to travel a bit lighter. Counting the points until Elite Plus - would love to be able to fly with carry-on :).

 

 

Grandgeezer, I'm always worried to send off any 'delicate' items....thoughts form your experience?

 

We don't send our really nice articles out. Mostly shorts, t shirts, jeans, sports shirts, etc. They wash everything the same way, hot water and industrial soap. We use our free pressing coupons to get the dinner clothes spiffed up. Doing away with formal nights made it a lot easier.

[awhcruiser]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2536837

 

Turbobob, not one bad word bout the food? You missed the boat on that one.

[Shadow9612]

We don't send our really nice articles out. Mostly shorts, t shirts, jeans, sports shirts, etc. They wash everything the same way, hot water and industrial soap. We use our free pressing coupons to get the dinner clothes spiffed up. Doing away with formal nights made it a lot easier.

Thank you :)

[wallie5446]

. I would have assumed I could just go to the concierge desk and reserved my dinner times at the 2 speciality restaurants...I know better now that I may also be better off going to the restaurant directly to ensure i reserve my dinner time.

The "Concierge" class cabin category is a mis normer, as is the 'concierge' person. There is absolutely nothing special nor true 'concierge' services provided by the front desk person, unless, you are in a suite class cabin. Then it is mainly the Butler that will handle these booking reservations for dinner.

 

You are correct, go yourself to any of the speciality restaurants and they can take care of this for you.

No need to go to each one either, both can be booked at the same place.

[turbobob]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2536837

 

I covered that in a separate post, yes, the MDR was a disappointment. We did enjoy QSine, both the menu and especially the service so we ate there twice. It almost seems as if they are trying to encourage people to the additional cost venues with the quality of the MDR offerings.

[ChucktownSteve]

turbobob, When you said in your OP, "Hungarian Goulash" starter was more soup than substance, you do know why it was don't you?

 

Did you ever watch the old cartoons where they would dunk a piece of meat on a string in a bowl of water? Or was that the Three Stooges? Anyway, envision the cook in the kitchen doing something similar. The pieces of meat in your bowl actually slipped off during the dunking. :p

[blackwing]

Comments like some I have read on this thread make a relative newbie like me hesitant to comment and yet, it is a free world and I don't intend to get intimidated by those who are 'Elite Plus Plus' or Zenith or whatever with over 10,000+ comments on CC. I am disappointed that someone would make comments like...the OP would need his own yacht or who sends laundry 4 times on a 12 day cruise. Like really? The OP was just commenting on his experience. I read his post and I read all the other replies to the OP's post. Some I found very informative and others very condesending.

I am new to Celebrity...only one cruise with them in April 2017, but I am going with them again in October 2017. This time in Concierge class. My travel agent has given me 2 dinners for 2 at the speciality restaurants. I would have assumed I could just go to the concierge desk and reserved my dinner times at the 2 speciality restaurants...I know better now that I may also be better off going to the restaurant directly to ensure i reserve my dinner time.

I enjoy reading CC posts, but we need to play nice. If we can't say something to someone's face, then don't say it at all.

What I have learned in my years of being here at CC is that everyone is different. Some people, like OP, seem to be extremely hard to please. They are the type of cruisers who will find things to complain about and focus on the negatives. Others seem to focus on positives and point out items that might have been done better, but overall seem to have enjoyed themselves.

 

I have said this before, but I think it applies here as well. A cruise is what you make of it. If you go in with a positive attitude and expect to have a good time, you will enjoy it. If you go in with high expectations that cannot realistically be met, you will end up like OP.

 

I see nothing wrong with people opining that OP is being difficult. I don't think any of the comments were out of line that warranted a "play nice" comment.

[bEwAbG]

To me, OP has some legitimate complaints sprinkled with some unrealistic expectations as well as a little misunderstanding, but otherwise he supports his opinion, which is what it is. It is perfectly reasonable to be peeved that the concierge didn't take care of the dining reservations that he said he would do. That is unacceptable, and the "you dummy, you must KNOW that you have to go to the conference room at 1:47pm on Tuesdays to make dining reservations" type of response is not a valid critique of his perception that customer service was lacking in that instance. Had the OP ranted and raved about the previous cruises, too, I'd agree that some of you might have a point that he's just negative all the time. However, this was, all-in-all, a pretty even-handed review, and the OP is being unfairly maligned by some for mentioning some service failures. He even says that it's not enough to write off the cruise line forever, but he may reconsider taking this specific ship in the future.

[Covepointcruiser]

Turbobob lists Asmara and Seabourn(sp??) as his favorite lines. We have been on Seabourn and I would not expect Celebrity to ever match what they offer in the food or stateroom department. We have since only booked suites on Celebrity and still would not consider the experience to be of the same caliber as Seabourn. Celebrity, however, does have more entertainment, more restaurants and more bars. We also enjoy the variety of passengers on Celebrity.

[reileyj]

I have to thank everyone who has participated on this thread and made my evening. I laughed for an hour reading everyone's comments. You're a sport, turbobob, for not going ballistic in response to some of these rude (but really funny) comments. If I knew how to take this thread viral I would. As for me, give me a lounge chair and a cocktail on any cruise ship and I could not be happier.