A tale of two cabins

[sportsmum]

Just back from the Summit. We were on her a few years back and it was great to see her all done up. Embarkation was quick and painless at 12:30PM. I had forgotten to print off one of our boarding passes Fruedian slip??, but with a passport that was a non issue. Rooms were not ready and we went to the buffet for lunch. Room call was made part way through.

 

We had booked CC7194 specifically for location - cabins above and below. We headed into the cabin and the first thing I said was 'it smells!' DH went out onto the balcony (his fav place) to see our view. He called me out and pointed at the table. On it was a cream container filled with cigarette butts and matches all over the balcony floor. I phoned immediately to the front desk and told them. They said they would send the steward. He did not come - frankly I was upset and didn't wait more than 10 minutes - so I called again. They said they would send the supervisor. We waited outside the cabin and it took another 10 minutes or so (2.5 chapters in my book)for them to come out of a door about 4 down from where we were.

 

We explained the issue, the super and steward walked in and my husband directed them to the balcony. Supervisor turned, looked at me and said, 'these are yours'. More of a statement than question. Either was ridiculous. We told him so and said we booked a refurbised, non smoking cabin ship and get this? He said that the steward would clean it with a chemical. We thought, let them do what they can and see after that. We asked what they would do with us if it still smelled. No answer. I went to the front desk to ask.

 

At the front desk I told them the issue (they remembered) and asked to speak to the Hotel Director. I was told, "he's far too busy to speak to you". Seriously? SERIOUSLY? He may be busy and will get back to me, but SERIOUSLY? I asked if there would be a time he wasn't 'far too busy' and was told maybe the next day. We went back to the room to digest this information and check on the cleaning.

 

Walking down the hall to our room our steward was chatting with another steward until he saw us coming - then he popped back into the room. The cleaning process was a bucket and sponge. No machine. The supervisor came by and the steward came back out. We were told that the smoking was done that morning. NOOO, we said. That's not true- you'd have to be chain smoking 4 at a time for that amount. We then asked for the container back so we could get a picture - we had a feeling this may not turn out well and I wasn't going to be charged $250!! The super took our camera and came back with a picture. We were then told that the steward had not cleaned this room for 2 days so that's when the smoking happened. Well, we were making progress - they stopped blaming us!

 

After the bucket and sponge treatment we were allowed back in. Now it smelled of chemicals over smoke. We opened the balcony door and......gasp!.......the hall door to air it out. Our bags arrived and I unpacked. A massive headache was coming on and I went down to the front desk again. I wanted the HD and I wanted him now!! (On a side note, there was a lady beside me wanting a new room. Her neighbors were already driving her nuts and she would take anything - downgrade me, she said!!) I was asked to wait and see what customer service could do. I agreed. Back to cabin.

 

We sailed shortly and then we got a call. We were changing cabins as someone missed the ship. We went to AQ9066. I was packed and out to that cabin before the new cabin steward had the keys out -honestly, I was. I asked my husband to get the name of the old steward (his eyes are better) because I thought, " I bet it's Franciois- I read about him on Cruise Critic - lazy man." YEP! That's who it was!!Funny now that we were moving. Not so funny if we had to stay.

 

The front desk called twice. Both times to see if the room was better and to ask if I still wanted to speak to the HD. Seems they really wanted to keep me away from him. I was offered a free specialty dinner (refused, I just wanted a smoke free room) and they sent flowers. Beautiful flowers I did not send back. :)

 

Room comaprrisons - 7194 had an awning below which blocked the view down to the water. That was the only drawback that we know of other than the steward (how can you clean a room for a new guest and not look on the balcony, even if your sense of smell is off?). 9066 was below the buffet and had a huge overhang above. Lots of noise from buffet and didn't care for the overhang - much better than the stinky cabin and the steward and his assistant were spectacular.

 

Upgrades: the front desk made a big deal of my 'upgrade' which wore thin after a bit. We did eat in Blu but ordered off the main menu more often than not. Loved, loved, LOVED the staff at Blu and eating in the more intimate space. LOVED it. Menu not so much, but they were so gracious each time I ordered off the main one. DH husband said the waiter only bit his lip once.:p Used the upgraded shower head once and then found out that 5'2" is not the optimun height to bend over to pick up dropped soap with all jets running. Bathroom smelled off but I moved the aroma diffuser to the bathroom and it was fine. I don't think I would pay extra for the AQ especially because of the location.

 

Bermuda and the ship were wonderful. Can't wait to do this one again. After a minor blip it all worked out and the staff was fabulous. The buffet was poor, we thought, and the desserts not so hot. We didn't starve and it won't stop us from returning!!

 

Funny disembark story: We had a hardy cabin credit as well as a bingo win on our account. You cannot charge the casino slots to your card and had to pay cash. Therefore, we had a little over $300 in credit at the end. We were told that would go onto our Visa. Call from the front desk just before we left the cabin- come get the money we can't put it on your credit card. DH went to do that. There was an issue about refundable and non refundable. No problem - we understand. We were not given $18.00. Off we go and put in our cards to disembark. It goes off like the slot machines. Everyone is looking. There was a message for us. We had money owing to us. We told them we already got it. They called up and there was still $18.02 left to us. We asked if we could just give it to the steward (we had left him extra anyway) but they said no, they will bring it down. Ever get stopped leaving a ship so they could give you more money? It worked out since my account was not linked properly with his and I had a couple hundred owing on mine so they wanted to give us the full amount.

[Karen@Steve]

Ah yes...Franciois...We had him on our recent cruise in CC7198. It took most of the cruise but I got him where I needed him to be and he worked out well, but it took alot of work (and a little manipulation) on my part. They really should address the issue with him. Glad you got it worked out. We loved our cabin and didn't mind not being able to look directly down into the water.

[Phxazzcruisers]

WOW !! So very sorry to read your post. We will be in the Summit next year. Hopefully, by that time Franciois will be gone......

[sportsmum]

Didn't really mean it to be negative. Just informative for that particular cabin, steward, supervisor. Loved, loved, loved the ship and cruise and we WILL do it again (already looking!)

 

As short a time as we had him, we will alway remember Franciois! Just yesterday I told my teenage son, "hey, Franciois, take a cloth to that counter, would ya?"

 

Our new steward, Sidney, was amazing. We SWORE there was a microphone in our cabin. No sooner than we said something - it was there or being asked about. Ex: one night we walked into the cabin after it was turned down. No one in the hallway, door closed. I joked to my husband (and we are not loud people): he likes you better, he always gives you more pillows. Within a minute, Sidney knocked on the door asking if the pillow configuration was okay! :eek: Then, on our first afternoon in Bermuda, I asked DH, don't we get bags and towels for the beach? (our beach day was next day). knock, knock..........I forgot to put your bag out, would you like towels?

[CruisingChick]

Didn't really mean it to be negative. Just informative for that particular cabin, steward, supervisor. Loved, loved, loved the ship and cruise and we WILL do it again (already looking!)

 

I did not think you were negative at all. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I think you handled it very well.

[Phalst]

Didn't really mean it to be negative. Just informative for that particular cabin, steward, supervisor. Loved, loved, loved the ship and cruise and we WILL do it again (already looking!)

 

Thought your post was very informative and helpful for those of us with less experience cruising. We are booked on the Summit for next April, and we are looking forward to trying a new cruise line. We have been very fortunate to have never encountered a steward such as the one you had. Thanks for sharing. Although it's too bad you had to work so hard to get the experience you deserved, I'm glad you were able to finally enjoy your cruise.

[We're The Groupnors]

I think your post was well balanced; thank you! I'm surprised, though, with all of the negative reviews your original steward gets that he's kept his job this long. On our Solstice cruise last year we had one of the best assistant waiters ever, and he told us that they don't hesitate getting rid of poor performers quickly, like by the middle of the second week if they aren't catching on, or if their service is not up to Celebrity's standards. I wonder what pictures this guy has to keep him so protected?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

The crew's reaction was totally unacceptible and I can't believe that the room steward left the room in such a condition in the first place.

 

I have read some reviews of Summit and they sound very different from the reviews of the other ships.

 

I think that there must be some problem onboard at the moment- perhaps Norovirus. That would explain the complaints about cleanliness and lack of crew. Perhaps many crew members are ill.

[Fixit2010]

Sometimes things do not go according to plan and there is nothing wrong in complaining when that happens. Why should you have to put up with sub standard service? Give someone a chance to resolve the matter and they usually do, then all parties are happy. What gets me are the people that complain and expect to be compensated before any type of resolution has been tried. Or worse, those who complain just to get a freebie.

 

Even I, yes the mighty moi, has had cause to complain, but the situation was fixed and I was very happy, so it even happens to the best of us. Don't let it ruin your vacation.

[JFontaine]

Thank you for your detailed post. I am a very experienced cruiser, and I am always interested in how cruise lines handle things that go wrong. While I realize that the line can't guarantee a smoke-free room, I have see Crystal spring into action with serious machines to clean it (unfortunately, also when I asked). The worst part of your story is that the HD was unavailable. At the very least, his assistant should have contacted you immediately. Thanks again for posting.

[sportsmum]

Thank you for the positive feedback. We are very pro Celebrity even though this was only our 3rd cruise with the line.

 

We too were very surprised that the cabin was presented in that state and with not even a glance at the balcony before he finished. Also, thanks to cruise critic, I knew who to ask for to get action. Knowing the HD is THE MAN on the ship and asking to speak directly to him made all the difference I think. No need to yell, threaten or pitch a fit, just name drop! But, even without that I truley believe they would have done what they could for us, just without it I may have lost that extra cabin to someone who was squeakier.:)

 

This is just the best board ever!

[uktog]

Interesting that the supervision of the work of the cabin attendants on Summit is still a problem. I am glad the OP managed to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the issues though they should not have had to tackle this issue. Our experience a few weeks earlier (although a different steward) led us to believe that whilst he was "lacking" his spoervisors were even more to blame. It sounds in some ways like supervisors are covering up inappropriately for crew - this can sometimes happen when a previous team member is promoted to a supervisors role without adequate preparation in "how to manage your friends" which is actually quite tricky to do

[twoputt.plusone]

Interesting that the supervision of the work of the cabin attendants on Summit is still a problem. I am glad the OP managed to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the issues though they should not have had to tackle this issue. Our experience a few weeks earlier (although a different steward) led us to believe that whilst he was "lacking" his spoervisors were even more to blame. It sounds in some ways like supervisors are covering up inappropriately for crew - this can sometimes happen when a previous team member is promoted to a supervisors role without adequate preparation in "how to manage your friends" which is actually quite tricky to do

 

You may have hit the nail on the head with this observation. ;)

[Cruise Arizona]

I am so glad this had a somewhat happy ending and you were still able to enjoy your cruise. I would write the powers that be at Celebrity a letter about your predicament. I don't think anyone should have to endure a room that wasn't clean and smelled of cigarette smoke if it is expressly not at all what they wanted. Celebrity was right to move you, but the way that the house keeping manager initially responded does not meet Celebrity's high expectations of customer service, so I would let people know this. I hope you maybe mentioned this in your comment card? Be sure to let them know how nicely you were treated by the other staff members that you encountered during your cruise.

[jt'scruisinmom]

Didn't really mean it to be negative. Just informative for that particular cabin, steward, supervisor. Loved, loved, loved the ship and cruise and we WILL do it again (already looking!)

 

As short a time as we had him, we will alway remember Franciois! Just yesterday I told my teenage son, "hey, Franciois, take a cloth to that counter, would ya?"

 

Our new steward, Sidney, was amazing. We SWORE there was a microphone in our cabin. No sooner than we said something - it was there or being asked about. Ex: one night we walked into the cabin after it was turned down. No one in the hallway, door closed. I joked to my husband (and we are not loud people): he likes you better, he always gives you more pillows. Within a minute, Sidney knocked on the door asking if the pillow configuration was okay! :eek: Then, on our first afternoon in Bermuda, I asked DH, don't we get bags and towels for the beach? (our beach day was next day). knock, knock..........I forgot to put your bag out, would you like towels?

 

That's hysterical. I would have been looking for the microphones, too, thinking, boy they sure didn't want us asking for the almighty HD again. Too funny.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Glad everything got resolved. I'm really surprised that neighbors on the earlier cruise never complained about the smoking. We would have been quite vocal with our complaints.

 

Mary Lou