johhnnyt

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for taking the time to do this, and sincere good wishes for your ongoing efforts to make Celebrity even better, with your background, no one in the company knows Celebrity better than you

1. Any plans in the near future to adding Cuba as a destination?

 

2. Any plans for strategic partnerships with dining onboard, or is that going to remain in house for the most part?

 

Thanks

John

Just off the Solstice, I met Rose, she is excellent in her role !

 

Agree, Rose is in that elite bunch of top shelf CC host's. Met her on Solstice on April 20th and she aims to help any way she can. She was even able to help me with a cabin issue (no hot water) after housekeeping/maintenance/plumbers couldn't get it solved. Rose with help from the HD got the issue stepped up to the chief engineer, and got fixed three hours after I mentioned it her.

 

I really admired her can do attitude, rather than just referring the problem to another department, she was proactive in getting the issue fixed and following up on the remedy

The 90/10 rule always seems to apply to both airfares and cruise line fares

 

90% of the time I think I found a good to great deal but a month or two later I find I should of waited when I see a better one

 

10% of the time I score a great deal

 

Either way, I just say whatever, I gave it my best shot

It’s a pretty complicated algorithm they use to set airline prices. The only guideline that I’ve found generally holds true is you usually get the best prices domestically 50-100 days within the flight date, and internationally 50 days before or 6 months in advance. It all based on

• purchasers and last-minute purchasers-An early purchaser generally can wait some time to find the best deal on a flight, but often will simply buy a relatively affordable ticket, since predicting when the lowest price point is can be too difficult. Last-minute purchasers often pay full price for a ticket and do not have the flexibility of waiting for cheaper deals. As a result, prices will tend to spike radically within a few days of a flight, since airlines know some consumers have no other option.

• Destination Popularity

• Filled Capacity

• Flight Closures

• Historical Analysis

I booked a inside on a T/A a few years back and felt very confined first day I was there. Went down to guest relations and on the way there met the Asst Hotel Director, and asked him what the possibilities were to upgrade, and also told him I would be happy to pay for the upgrade. He said he would look into it.

 

By the time I returned to my room was already a message from him, saying they had found me a C2 instead, and the upgrade would be complimentary. Very generous of them

 

And as someone mentioned about viewing available rooms. It's a strange thing that if you go to the Celebrity UK site celebritycruises.co.uk ‎ you're able to see all available cabins in a given category, while if you use the US sitecelebritycruises.com you will only see 5 available in any given category

IS Tom Brady still on Solstice as HD? Such a great guy

It reminds me of a story I saw about Disney

Disney used to have a policy whereby disabled people could go to the head of the line....makes sense right???

 

Until some people that were considered technically disabled thought of the idea of renting themselves out to families that wanted head of the line priveledges

 

Now Disney is being sued over the change in policy that know has disabled guests schedule their time for venues rather than just show up

 

Another example of a good idea that got ruined by people who only think about themselves

No bait and switch here by Celebrity.

 

What a customer may feel, doesn't mean the terms are not laid out in plain English. I feel 65* degrees is very comfortable but most others do not.

 

Couldn't agree more. If you choose not to read the terms and conditions of a contract, and then think its someone else's fault that you didn't, it certainly isn't the company's fault.

 

Hardly deceptive, to me it comes down to if you think you see a deal that seems to good to be true, read the entire ad, not just the part that you like

I'm attempting contactmichael@celebrity.com

 

Travellers should know that those that pay the 100% single supplement are paying more than double the price. If you "book" the cruise online and enter 2 passengers, rather than 1, the price is significantly less than double the single rate. This was confirmed by Celebrity Customer Service. Their explanation was "two passengers spend more than a single passenger paying a 100% supplement."

 

 

Yes you are correct as thats an issue that's been raised before. Not a great deal for singles, but at least now they started giving double captains club credit for singles occupying a cabin, which is better than nothing. If you don't hear back from that email, you can always email concerns@celebrity.com, as both emails go to the same department regarding customer inquiries

Captain: Zisis Taramas

Hotel Director: was Michael Barnes (Jan)

GRM was Cameron Robertson (Jan)

Captain Club Hostess: Rose

 

No recent pax has posted an update...

 

 

Thanks Arno!

Anyone know who's on Solstice now? In particular

 

Captain

Hotel Director

GRM

Captain Club Hostess

 

Thanks for any info:D

I love reading 'wash your hands.' I'm trained in delivering the food safety qualification and one of things I used to do is give my students a powder to wash their hands with. I'd then use a UV lamp over their hands to see where they hadn't cleaned them properly. Most of the time, in between the fingers was missed.

 

Did you know you need to lather then scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds? Then use a paper towel to dry them. I hate seeing hand dryers as moisture and warmth is the ideal condition for bacteria to spread.

 

I've used the same exercise regarding radioative material contamination control where we use a UV visible powder as our substitute contamination source just to show people how easy it is to spread.

 

100% right about soap and warm water being the right way, hand sanitizer is convenient but not the primary way you prevent it. I did a thing with the Navy a few years ago regarding how they prevent Noro, and because they REQUIRE people to report symptoms, where on cruise ships I think people are a bit more hesitant since they feel they might get quarantined, or get a medical bill, it's a whole different ball of wax.

 

Even supervisors are told to turn in guys/gals that are showing any symptoms.

The Navy can't afford the risk of a ship getting Noro so much more proactive rather than reactive with preventive medicine technicians inspecting several times a day.

Our butler brought our Cappuccinos and he actually refused our tip! He said he liked visiting us first thing in the morning due to our smiles.

 

At the end of the cruise, he said the money helped, but those smiles meant more.

A I said "until a few years ago" Celebrity separated out the various gratuities in the daily rate. They, no longer do so but it does not make it any less true. If you do not believe me and the other posters who have told you so, ask any butler on your next cruise.

 

Really depends how needy the tenant of the suite is. I think in theory if you ask no more of the butler than his nominal duties (bringing canapes, picking up delivering laundry, and getting you a reservation in a specialty restauraunt), the standard suggested Celebrity gratuity is probably fine if you're watching your dollars.

If you want dinner parties set up, in room dining, special requests, you should provide ADDITIONAL compensation or don't ask him to do it.

I've been on cruises (restaurants and hotels also) where a guest demands more attention than the norm, but doesn't feel any obligation to return the service with compensation (or in some cases even a thank you). It might not be required but it certainly is the right thing to do.

I travel single, I usually do $20-25/day (in addition to normal prepaid gratuity) for the butler, and usually will only have breakfast once a week in suite, and really dont use him for much of anything else

I haven't found compelling differences in price for domestic flights but I use Choice Air anyway because of their flight delay policy.

 

Prices for open jaw international business class are incredibly good. Our flight from Rome to Denver, booked on Choice Air, cost 63% less than American Airlines or several flights on Travelocity.

 

I found the same thing for Intermational Business class, terrific prices flying into New Zealand and Leaving Australia

 

And also flyinto Hawaii and leaving Vancouver

 

Haven't really found an advantage on most round trip domestic flights, they won't necessarily wait for you if your flight is delayed but they will fly you to next port if your flight gets delayed, but I think so will most airlines will also

Thanks for posting this link - lots of good info there, unlike many of the "me first - my opinion is the only one that counts" posts on this thread.

 

Thanks Mike & Janet

I agree

Good information in there on a lot more than a chocolate on the pillow:D

She gave a great interview a few days ago, you can read it here

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/cruises/conversation-lisa-lutoff-perlo-celebrity-cruises-new-president-49962

 

I was lucky enough to meet Lisa when she was Director of Onboard Marketing for Celebrity quite a few years ago. I thought I remembered her saying she started with Celebrity as the regional sales manager, and have followed her career ever since. In my mind she was the obvious choice to succeed Dan Hanrahan wen he left, since she is the most well rounded executive in the business (with titles in Sales,Maritime, Hotel, and Launching, Designing Ships), glad Mr Fain finally reached the same conclusion.

 

So happy for her and can't see what ideas she uses to put her own mark on Celebrity

Since they are really just cosmetic changes, no drydock is needed. Drydocks are generally limited to scrape of the barnacles, and engineering updates, not generally for this type of change

[quote name='debbiedoesit']We had a great B2B cruise on the Equinox in Jan for 21 days. We did notice the food quality in the MDR is not like it used to be but loved the food stations upstairs in the buffet room. When I mentioned the food quality not being that great in the MDR and that maybe people are being "prodded" into paying for the specialty restaurants, the passenger I was talking to said "we shareholders love to hear that". Shocked! I said, well maybe the shareholders would like it if I went with another cruiseline? So disappointed as we loved Celebrity, especially because of their no smoking on the balconies policy. We wanted to book another B2B for next Jan/Feb but thinking twice now.....[/QUOTE]

My opinion is the quality of the MDR has gone down overall in the past 5-7 years, smaller portions and more importantly the quality of the food being served. Is it related to the "push" on specialty dining? It wouldn't surprise me, it's corporate America we're dealing with, not the love boat. I would much prefer they offer the specialty dining and keep the rates low and cut out acapella groups, trivia, and the nighttime chocolates.
Even the ice thing and the nightly canape change I think is a good idea. Either one you can still have, you just have to ask for it. In hindsight it seems silly that they left canapes for everyone in concierge class, and refilled ice several times a day if it was a wasteful effort.
Dan Hanrahan did a great job while at Celebrity, I'll be forever grateful to him for the Solstice class, and the team concept he made a reality on the Celebrity fleet. I am biased since Dan is a friend of mine.
I think Mike Bayley made changes that were needed to keep Celebrity competitive with their rivals, while still trying to please everyone he could(was especially happy with the revamp of the Captains Club, and the new Michaels Club programs).
Now with the recent announcement of Celebrity's new CEO the very talented Lisa Lutoff-Perlo at the helm, I really look forward to seeing her mark on the brand. Lisa has served in top operational and hotel positions in both Celebrity and RCCL, and she knows her stuff inside and out.
Now with Lisa as the new CEO and Greg Purdy (SVP Operations) and Dondra Ritzenthaler (SVP) sales, I really think they have a unbeatable team.:D

The main reason cruise lines banned smoking from cabins and balconies was because of the fires they ended up causing.

Star Princess fire in 2006 was caused by a cigarette being flicked over an upper balcony.That fire killed one passenger and injured many others as it destroyed 100 cabins.

 

Violating safety rules that endanger other people can not be tolerated, and if you're worried about privacy issues being violated then either

• Follow safety rules
  
• Smoke where its allowed, not where you want to
  and then it's a non issue
  

And that's coming from a guy that smoked for almost 30 years, but also from an ex Navy guy that has seen the damage that one careless cigarette can do on a ship

Lisa has certainly earned the CEO spot. I remember when she was sales manager in New England for Celebrity, and even then she stood out as a shining light. Excellent choice by Fain and the board

It is simply amazing what some people get upset about. :rolleyes:

 

I'd rather give thanks for the blessings I've received. At one time cruising was only a dream I never believe would come true. I have been fortunate to meet so many wonderful people along the way and have developed some very special friendships. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

 

I couldn't agree with your sentiments more

 

I guess this isn't the time to bring up my own complaints that the ice in the drinks are too cold, I wish the Captain would do something about it, while he's wandering around generating cash flow ;)

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

If you want to advertise the product, do it big with a sandwich board

:D

Hotel Icon outstanding in every regard and rated one of the best on trip advisor as well. Service on a par as a Mandarin Oriental, but priced like a Hilton