Service Issues on Reflection

[sarahc78]

Susie,

We just got off the Reflection and noticed some of the same, but noticeably from the bar staff. They appeared to be significantly understaffed and a bit 'flustered'.

 

Mind you that the 123Go promotion had just ended. We upgraded to the premium plan just so we wouldn't have to worry about anything. There were TONS of people at the bars! I had feared that they would be overwhelmed and that was the case. The 'specialty' bars weren't open during the day, so people went to the few that were.....most notably the pool bar. Nearly every day there were only 2 bartenders for the masses at the pool They were VERY busy. It was not uncommon to wait 20 - 30 minutes for a drink. The theater bar was also overwhelmed during the show hours.

 

I did fill out an Attention to Detail card noting the under-staffing and received a call from the Bar Manager. He asked if things had gotten any better and I said "not really". He had no reply to that other than to say "sorry for the inconvenience".

 

We chalked it all up to the 123Go promotion and tried to work around the busy areas, but did expect better. This was our first X cruise and were looking forward to the exceptional level of service that is touted. Our cabin steward was great as was our dining room attendant, but I would have been upset if we'd paid full price for the premium package and got the service we did.

So you were able to upgrade to the premium package on the ship?

 

Sorry to hear bar service wasnt up to par on your sailing!

[Andy]

So you were able to upgrade to the premium package on the ship?

 

 

Hi Sarah,

 

As mentioned previously, both by myself, and guests who have sailed in recent weeks - the answer is yes. I'm sailing on Connie next week, and will be sure to report my observations, both on upgrading (I do not have the 123 GO beverage package - but will ask), and service at the bars.

 

Stay Tuned !

[CaroleSS]

Sarah,

Andy is correct about upgrading onboard, but we upgraded prior to boarding.

 

Our experience did not ruin our vacation, we just had to work a little to get around it. There were numerous discussions as to whether the 123Go promotion would affect service and for our sailing it did....YMMV.

 

It is amusing that we found the casino bar to be the least frequented on the ship plus they seemed to be quite friendly. We really enjoyed the Martini Bar, but it was packed most evenings.

[amyr]

Andy,

 

I think we'll all be curious to see what you find. We just got off Connie, and while we thought she was in great shape, our cabin was pristine, and the food was fabulous (despite the recent bad reviews) we found the same thing with the bars. Only one pool bar and the aft Sunset bar off the buffet were open before 4:00, nothing else. Consequently, they were mobbed, we had a terrible time getting served, and the bartenders were being crushed.

 

First time I've ever been on Celebrity where nobody ever approached us in the buffet after we sat down to offer a beverage. We quickly learned we had to 'go fetch' for all our drinks. They even had 200+ people in Reflections at 3:00 for bingo which morphed into a large trivia group at 4:00, and the bar was shuttered, and even that bar didn't open until 7:00. Before 123Go, any group events like Bingo or trivia always had waiters hustling drinks.

 

We were hoping it was a one-off and our upcoming on Reflection wouldn't be the same, but perhaps that's something that's going on fleet-wide. I wonder if we'll have to wait for the 123Go beverage packages to dwindle before they return to the old formula of the more drinks they sell, the better the tips? Is there just no incentive since the drinks have already been purchased? We didn't have a package, but it seemed like most people did.

[CaroleSS]

My husband is usually a big tipper.....he gives a cash tip in addition to the automatic 15% gratuity.

 

He did the same for the first few nights on our last trip, but quit as the service was so poor.

 

We also noticed the lack of attention at the buffet. On most of our cruises we've been asked several times about needing coffee "warmed" or more juice, etc....but not this time. I thought the selection at the buffet was excellent, but two things come to mind...

1 - we found a decent number of food items that were cold

2 - there was always just one person at the ice cream area - and it was MOBBED all the time!

 

I hope it was a just a bad combination of the promotion and the crew just not 'gelling' yet. :(

[amyr]

We didn't eat at the buffet for breakfast, although I've never minded fetching my own coffee or juice there since they are easy to get at, but they used to come through to warm the coffee like you said. Our problem was at lunch time getting a beer and a soda at the buffet or the mast grill. We always had to run for it.

 

We didn't really experience indifference, more a complete lack of personnel. The servers just weren't there.

[waterbug123]

Susie,

We just got off the Reflection and noticed some of the same, but noticeably from the bar staff. They appeared to be significantly understaffed and a bit 'flustered'.

 

 

Sarah,

 

It is amusing that we found the casino bar to be the least frequented on the ship plus they seemed to be quite friendly.

 

On Reflection 2/2, we found that while the actual casino bar was often not busy, there was a near total lack of bar servers roving through the casino to take orders from those seated at gaming tables. At times it was virtually impossible to get a drink without giving up your seat to go to the bar yourself. Thoroughly enjoyed the cruise otherwise, but that one issue was a bit of a disappointment.