Why won't Celebrity fix their ships

[dkjretired]

I have sailed with Celebrity 4 times in the past and have booked the Millennium for the Med in the fall of this year. After reading all of the negative posts that are on these boards, I am not sure I want to continue with my plans for the fall. In the past, I have enjoyed sailing with Celebrity, with the exception of the Galaxy 3 years ago. The ship was in dire need of some work in the staterooms and I felt the food was not as good as it has been in the past.

 

I feel I am a seasoned cruiser since my husband and I have sailed on all of the major lines several times in the past. This cruise in the fall will be our 28th. cruise. I usually enjoy all of my cruises, and I am not hard to please. However, I am not sure I want to sail on a ship that has worn and tattered staterooms and public areas. I do not live like that at home, and I sure do not want to live like that on a cruise ship. Another issue I am concerned with is the sewage smell that seems to continue to be a problem on the Millennium, and have been following the boards to see if the problem has been totally corrected.

 

Since I have sailed on other lines, I feel there are a lot of excellent choices out there on other lines. They also offer excellent surroundings, service and good food.

 

I think part of the problem was the merger with RCCL, top level management leaving, and older ships that have not been maintained. What a shame they are receiving all of the negative publicity, and maybe it is time they start to do something about it. I do follow many of the cruise critic boards, and feel Celebrity has more complaints than others at this time. Of course, there are always complainers on any of the lines. I certainly feel Celebrity is not in the same "higher standards" category that they have been in the past.

 

I certainly hope conditions will improve in the future for them.

 

Sandy

 

Don't know if you realize it but Celebrity has been under RCCL control longer than they were on their own. I don't think most who complain, compare apples to apples and don't know it since the merger was so long ago.

[helenp2]

I have been on a variety of cruise lines and none of them keep their ships in better shape than Celebrity and Royal Caribbean.

 

OMG - gimme a break. These 2 cruise lines are far and away the dirtiest and most uncomfortable lines out there. Their beds are a joke. Never, ever again will I sail with them. Just a 2nd rate excuse for a cruise ship.

[helenp2]

You missed the point and apparently didn't read my post. The PRIMARY purpose of a regular drydock is not to repair carpets and change sheets it is for maintenance that can't be done at sea. PRIMARY PURPOSE

 

The Discovery channel special involved a much more extensive remodeling that a regular drydock which is what I was referring to. The Zenith going into drydock a few months ago for a week certainly can't be compared to what they are doing to Century.

 

 

 

I'M AFRAID YOU MISS THE POINT. When I go away on any vacation I want to at the very least be able to sleep at least 6 hrs a nt. Those beds on both RCCL & X are the worst I have EVER seen. How in God's name can anyone continue to cruise on these 2 cruise lines? I just don't get it. The bedding is not even equivalent to a 2star hotel in Mexico. Are all X customers just so used to this level of overall satisfaction that they just chose to ignore it???

[dkjretired]

I'M AFRAID YOU MISS THE POINT. When I go away on any vacation I want to at the very least be able to sleep at least 6 hrs a nt. Those beds on both RCCL & X are the worst I have EVER seen. How in God's name can anyone continue to cruise on these 2 cruise lines? I just don't get it. The bedding is not even equivalent to a 2star hotel in Mexico. Are all X customers just so used to this level of overall satisfaction that they just chose to ignore it???

 

Helen:

 

I would suggest you go back and read the posts leading to your comments. My post had nothing to do with beds only the purpose of a drydock.

[helenp2]

Interesting analysis -- enjoyable writing. I see you generally sail Holland. I have never tried that line -- might I assume that you feel Holland does a much better job all the way around -- food, maintenance, etc. Just curious.

 

 

As a cruise lover of many different lines, I can honestly say HAL is in a completely different class than X (in just so many ways). X is not in the same league as HAL - try them just once and see for yourself.

[C 2 C]

We were on Galaxy November 2005 and the bedding is the one reason we will not return to Celebrity (we also had a similar, but not as bad experience in the RS of Constellation in April 2004).

 

I agree it does not take a dry dock to fix the bedding but then how are you going to know if Celebrity has replaced the bedding in your particular room. I doubt very much they will indicate on their web site which rooms have been updated. Everything else can be fantastic but if the bedding sucks then the whole cruise sucks as far as I am concerned.

 

The hotel manager told me last week that all bedding will be replaced on Galaxy by August 2nd. I was fortunate enough to have a 30 minute talk with him about Celebrity issues. The marks on my back from sharp springs had barely faded prior to my question about the bedding problem.. which was resolved with a bed liner.... Century should already have the upgrades.

 

Other issues that arose... those Galaxy stratosphere windows.:mad: with engineers inspecting them in Athens to see if the window problem can be fixed.

Celebrity's president, Dan Hanrahan, was on board Galaxy from Galveston to Bahamas. The VIP reception was held in the Stratosphere so that they could see the fabulous view passengers could have.... let's hope it was an eye opener.:rolleyes:

[C 2 C]

As a cruise lover of many different lines, I can honestly say HAL is in a completely different class than X (in just so many ways). X is not in the same league as HAL - try them just once and see for yourself.

 

I used to cruise HAL almost exclusively (about 150 days.) I tried the Celebrity product and have liked it better.. more than 300 days now. However I do like some HAL ships better than Zenith and Galaxy. Depending on one's tastes both offer an excellent product most of the time but both also provide less than perfect cruises to some of its passengers.

 

Most of us have blind spots to certain aspects and will not tolerate certain aspects that others ignore. I just think that reality is in the eye of the beholder. There seems to be no reality that many people can agree to, there are just perceptions.

[Host Anne]

Great insight, Arno (C2C).

[bepsf]

Don't know if you realize it but Celebrity has been under RCCL control longer than they were on their own. I don't think most who complain, compare apples to apples and don't know it since the merger was so long ago.[

 

 

"Don't know if you realize it"...

...but you're wrong.

 

Celebrity is a descendent of Chandris Lines which began passenger service in the 20's, became more cruise-oriented in the 60's and grew to be one of the biggest cruise lines ever in the mid-70's A partnership called Chandris-Fantasy Cruises was created in the early 1980s and later divided into the two separate arms of the Chandris Group: Fantasy Cruises and then the more up-market Celebrity cruises in 1988 with their first ship Meridian.

 

http://www.ssaustralishomepage.co.uk/chandris.html

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Celebrity.html#anchor1152914

 

Even if we count only the strictly Celebrity years as 1988 onward, RCCL only bought X in 1998 - so we still have a couple years to go before RCCL will have owned Celebrity longer than that brand has been in existance...

 

Oughta get your facts right before you go making your sweeping pronouncements...

[bepsf]

I'M AFRAID YOU MISS THE POINT. When I go away on any vacation I want to at the very least be able to sleep at least 6 hrs a nt. Those beds on both RCCL & X are the worst I have EVER seen. How in God's name can anyone continue to cruise on these 2 cruise lines? I just don't get it. The bedding is not even equivalent to a 2star hotel in Mexico. Are all X customers just so used to this level of overall satisfaction that they just chose to ignore it???

 

Helen --

 

It amazes me too.

 

Either some folks are in denial about how bad it really is - after all, who wants to be thought a fool for choosing an inferior product?

...or they may have never experienced anything better than the bargain beds on RCCL/X.

 

Either way - it's sad...

[C 2 C]

Either some folks are in denial about how bad it really is -

...or they may have never experienced anything better than the bargain beds on RCCL/X.

 

Either way - it's sad...

 

In Jan 2005 we cruised for 14 days on HAL's Veendam and experienced their beds... wow whhat luxury. We got off, drove to JAX and cruised on Zenith for 14 days... ouch. We were able to compare directly two older ships of about the same size and duration. We liked HAL's product better and have been unable to think of Zenith in the same way again. Zenith really suffers in comparison and makes its passengers suffer as well. However RCL announced its new bed program several months ago and bedding will be replaced on Celebrity as well. Century, I was told will have been renovated during its makeover and Galaxy will be converted by August 2nd.

[dkjretired]

Helen --

 

It amazes me too.

 

Either some folks are in denial about how bad it really is - after all, who wants to be thought a fool for choosing an inferior product?

...or they may have never experienced anything better than the bargain beds on RCCL/X.

 

Either way - it's sad...

 

Actually, you should go and read the posts. I tried to get Helen to correct her post but she didn't read it either. My post had nothing to do with bedding, it had to do with the purpose of drydock. Never mentioned bedding in reference to this post so I would suggest you and Helen go back and read the posts.

[dkjretired]

"Don't know if you realize it"...

...but you're wrong.

 

Celebrity is a descendent of Chandris Lines which began passenger service in the 20's, became more cruise-oriented in the 60's and grew to be one of the biggest cruise lines ever in the mid-70's A partnership called Chandris-Fantasy Cruises was created in the early 1980s and later divided into the two separate arms of the Chandris Group: Fantasy Cruises and then the more up-market Celebrity cruises in 1988 with their first ship Meridian.

 

http://www.ssaustralishomepage.co.uk/chandris.html

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Celebrity.html#anchor1152914

 

Even if we count only the strictly Celebrity years as 1988 onward, RCCL only bought X in 1998 - so we still have a couple years to go before RCCL will have owned Celebrity longer than that brand has been in existance...

 

Oughta get your facts right before you go making your sweeping pronouncements...

 

 

What sweeping generalizations, I made a one line statement which I still believe to be correct based on information I checked a few months ago. If I am wrong I will correct it but there was no sweeping pronoucements.

[dkjretired]

"Don't know if you realize it"...

...but you're wrong.

 

Celebrity is a descendent of Chandris Lines which began passenger service in the 20's, became more cruise-oriented in the 60's and grew to be one of the biggest cruise lines ever in the mid-70's A partnership called Chandris-Fantasy Cruises was created in the early 1980s and later divided into the two separate arms of the Chandris Group: Fantasy Cruises and then the more up-market Celebrity cruises in 1988 with their first ship Meridian.

 

http://www.ssaustralishomepage.co.uk/chandris.html

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Celebrity.html#anchor1152914

 

Even if we count only the strictly Celebrity years as 1988 onward, RCCL only bought X in 1998 - so we still have a couple years to go before RCCL will have owned Celebrity longer than that brand has been in existance...

 

Oughta get your facts right before you go making your sweeping pronouncements...

 

Now lets talk about getting facts correct, all you had to do was go to Celebrity Website. Their web site states they were founded in 1989 and merged in 1997 for a total of 8 years. 1997 to 2006 is a total of 9 years so therefore according to Celebrity I was factually correct.

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/aboutceleb/heroSingleTxt.do;jsessionid=0000EMCDL65hDewQ_kWmGnP7Y0U:1028etqv2?pagename=history

[BaltiGator]

Galaxy will be converted by August 2nd.

 

You have posted this in a few relevant threads - thank you! Do you mind if I ask you (1) who specifically was your source, and (2) how reliable do you think the claim is? I'm considering a cruise on Galaxy this October. Thanks again!

[C 2 C]

You have posted this in a few relevant threads - thank you! Do you mind if I ask you (1) who specifically was your source, and (2) how reliable do you think the claim is? I'm considering a cruise on Galaxy this October. Thanks again!

I was lucky enough to have a half hour of the Hotel Director's time... Phil Herbert.. as I brought up some concerns from the point of view of Cruise Critic (and my) concerns about Celebrity and Galaxy.

 

For example... While onboard every Celebrity ship I scout out future cruises on the internet through Celebrity's website on board. It is possible on every ship except Galaxy. I noted this two years ago when Galaxy "improved" their internet program by raising prices from 50 to 75 cents a minute while cruising to Rome. I brought this to the attention of Mr Herbert and the next day I was contacted by the internet people who verified... oops it is not possible and was an oversight... Two years and no-one noticed.

On the second last night of our crossing there was a laundry special... $25.00 for a bag of dirty laundry... just the thing for us back-to-backers. Well the laundry came back washed and crumpled in a paper back... (help...where's that illegal iron we snuck on board?) All my shirts were clean but crumpled in worse state than from an air fluff drying cycle. The laundry people said ironing was not part of the price... Why would anyone pay $25.00 for one load of laundry?... Mr Herbert agreed that the issue was poor service on Galaxy's part and my tux shirts were ironed...

We also discussed the window issue... engineers would be arriving in Greece to evaluate a possible solution not requiring a dry dock..

He led me to believe that the status of perks would also be forwarded to Miami for further evaluation??? And ... these boards are monitored by X (but probably ignored.)

[BaltiGator]

I was lucky enough to have a half hour of the Hotel Director's time... Phil Herbert.. as I brought up some concerns from the point of view of Cruise Critic (and my) concerns about Celebrity and Galaxy.

 

Thanks for replying. Is this person the Hotel Director on Galaxy? Is this a position each ship has? Is it called the same thing on other cruise lines? I'm only asking because I haven't been around here that long, but hadn't seen that title used before. Is this a person who sails with the ship and is available if stateroom concerns aren't handled properly by personnel at lower levels? Just curious. And this is the person who said alll Galaxy bedding would be replaced by August 2? Cool!

[Ma Bell]

The Hotel Director used to be called the Purser and he is in charge of the accommodations on board.

[Leela]

That's what happened to "Purser." I was wondering!

[dkjretired]

That's what happened to "Purser." I was wondering!

 

AKA Gopher

[caviargal]

The Hotel Director used to be called the Purser and he is in charge of the accommodations on board.

 

This is incorrect.

 

The Purser is still the Purser and is basically responsible for accounting functions and front desk.

 

The HD is sometimes called the Hotel Manager as well, they have always been around and are responsible for all of the hospitality related personell and functions on board.

[C 2 C]

This is incorrect.

The Purser is still the Purser and is basically responsible for accounting functions and front desk.

The HD is sometimes called the Hotel Manager as well, they have always been around and are responsible for all of the hospitality related personell and functions on board.

From Celebrity Today Zenith Feb 12, 2005:

"Celebrity Cruises has always been concerned with guest service and comfort; therefore, a position to oversee each and every aspect regarding the guest and every aspect regarding the guest only seemed logical. What was at one time overseen by a Chief Purser, the Hotel Director now reigns. (sic).. the hotel Director advises in all capacities; administration, guest relations, guest accomodations, hotel stores, medical, entertainment, food and beverage, casino"... etc

[caviargal]

From Celebrity Today Zenith Feb 12, 2005:

"Celebrity Cruises has always been concerned with guest service and comfort; therefore, a position to oversee each and every aspect regarding the guest and every aspect regarding the guest only seemed logical. What was at one time overseen by a Chief Purser, the Hotel Director now reigns. (sic).. the hotel Director advises in all capacities; administration, guest relations, guest accomodations, hotel stores, medical, entertainment, food and beverage, casino"... etc

 

Sounds like a shift in responsibility?

 

In my role as group leader on many cruises, I regurlarly interface with both the HD and Purser. The HD is my point of contact for everything service related and the Purser for financial questions.

[BaltiGator]

Sounds like both positions exist on Celebrity ships. Hotel Director seems like an odd name, though. Thanks!

[caviargal]

Sounds like both positions exist on Celebrity ships. Hotel Director seems like an odd name, though. Thanks!

 

These guys are high up on the food chain and I have generally been very impressed! I have had the pleasure of dining with several over the years on formal nights on board and it is even better than the Captains table as IME these guys all have personality, sometimes lacking in the Captains I have met.