Disappointed with Celebrity

[20pluscruises]

I booked a 7 day Caribe Cruise on the Silhouette on Tuesday. I had to call them back on Wednesday to upgrade our drink packages and was on hold for about 25 minutes. Just a few minutes ago I called to ask a question about the formal nights. I was on hold for exactly 32 minutes. This was after the automated system told me it would be a "13 minute" wait.

 

Before I booked I called to ask a question and the call was picked up in 2 minutes. I am getting the feeling that once they have your money they treat you like a second class citizen. I tried to use their website to get the answers to my questions, but it has not been working properly over the past several days either!

 

This is our 4th cruise with them and I am not seeing the same level of professionalism from the company as I experienced in the past. The crews on the ships have been great, it's the way they are running their call centers that I am unhappy about.

 

Very disappointing service from a company holding itself out to be a "luxury" line.

 

I have to say the opposite happened with my email sent to Mr Bayley's office. Not only did I receive an excellent follow up phone call from the corporate office...I also received a follow up survey asking if I was satisfied. I feel Mr Bayley really takes a hands-on role as CEO for such a large company.

 

Frankly, I was very surprized I actually received a phone call and not an email response. I asked for only one thing...to better the experience for future cruisers/cutomers and was told they would follow up and forward my letter/email to right person/persons.

 

FYI...I think it's important to note (not that it would have made a difference either way)....I was not offered / received anything toward a future cruise. Nor did I ask for anything. However, I hung up feeling very good that Celebrity is listening.

 

Having said all this....my take is Celebrity is trying out some new ideas....and hopefully, will weed through and discard the ones that are not working to the benefit of us, the consumer. I have to give Mr. Bayley credit for really taking an interest in not only his company, but also his customer base.

 

I hope my gut feeling is right...time will tell.

Edited January 19, 2014 by 20pluscruises

[Cruise Raider]

21 mins for an online response! Well done Celebrity :)

 

I think Celebrity has the best customer service!! Like you said....well done, Celebrity!!

 

To the OP -- I agree with the one that posted, just ask these questions on cruise critic. This site will give you invaluable resources and answers to your questions. Most of us have done this before -- and for those questions that we might not have answers to, Host Andy ALWAYS has the answer.

[gimletgal]

Please tell me about the captains club phone number. I'm Elite with Celebrity, being D+ with RCL.

 

When calling RCL, pushing #9 gets you to D+. Is this how it works with Celebrity

 

thanks

You can call the Captain's Club direct at 800-760-0654.

[neeko]

Celebrity has declined in this service. For example I had a question and sent them a message on line. Four weeks and still no answer. I have phoned in the past and have received conflicting answers so I do it in writing now so I have a paper copy of any replies. I have to wonder if the people on the phone are actually Celebrity employees.

[neeko]

Can you give Mr. Bayleys email?

[20pluscruises]

Can you give Mr. Bayleys email?

 

contactmichael@celebrity.com

[20pluscruises]

Celebrity has declined in this service. For example I had a question and sent them a message on line. Four weeks and still no answer. I have phoned in the past and have received conflicting answers so I do it in writing now so I have a paper copy of any replies. I have to wonder if the people on the phone are actually Celebrity employees.

 

Yes, it was a Celbrity employee that I heard from as the name has been mentioned here numerous times.

[Holly2]

I never had any luck calling Celebrity and usually also did all the planning and transferred to a TA. Lately, we booked with a Celebrity cruise vacation planner who actually knows answers and when she doesn't checks and gets back to us.

Having a person to contact rather than calling the general number has been great. First time I feel that I've actually gotten good service!

[teecee60]

Sorry, thought I had made it clear that it was not 1 particular day.

 

When I did finally speak to someone she was pleasant and placed me on hold to verify the exact dates of the formal nights on my particular cruise. My problem is with the system, not the people.

 

When I have a problem with my $35 phone bill I expect to be placed on hold for extended periods of time. When I am paying a company thousands of dollars for an "upscale" cruise I do not. Personally, I don't feel that's an unreasonable expectation.

 

Celebrity has 11 ships, with roughly 23,000 berths. Some cruises are only 5 days long, others are 15 so lets say an average of 10 days. 365 days in a year yields roughly 840,000 passengers/bookings per year.

 

As much as we would ALL like instantaneous individualized service, I think it IS quite possible that your "expectation" might very well be "unreasonable." Especially considering that many people find it necessary to make MULTIPLE calls concerning numerous details about a single booking.

 

Lets say the average is only three calls per booking, ( I have talked to MANY fellow cruisers who call Celebrity 5-10 times per booking) that makes 2.5 million phone calls annually, divided by 365 days, equals 6,850 phone calls per day.

 

Don't use TA's. I have the time to research and take care of details myself, so I stopped using TA's several years ago.

 

Perhaps you could try a different TA, or an online site. I have booked 5 cruises on Celebrity through an online sight and I have never had to make more than two calls per booking, with a couple of them only requiring 1 call each.

 

My most recent experience got me a 15 night transatlantic cruise in November on Celebrity Reflection for $449pp with a $250 OBC. It required ONE phone call of less than 10 minutes to the on line site, and ONE email (requiring 3-4 minutes) to Celebrity.

Edited January 20, 2014 by teecee60

[PORT ROYAL]

Hi there Celebrity!

Do you have any news, as one has yet to receive a reply or an acknowledgement?

 

Dear Celebrity

Hello, hello, is there anybody there?

[wallie5446]

Dear Celebrity

Hello, hello, is there anybody there?

 

Too early in the U.S. For the office to be open yet:D

Edited January 20, 2014 by wallie5446

[PORT ROYAL]

Too early in the U.S. For the office to be open yet:D

 

Appreciate your help.:)

 

But I have been waiting nearly three months for a simple solution, to very very small problem, and I was just making public point on CC, because Celebrity published on CC, an offer to assist.

 

Sadly, the assistance volunteered, also published, by Celebrity 10 days ago on CC, failed to materialise, even after I complied fully, in writing, with the Celebrity written request.

 

One is a little peeved, also irritated, that something so simple is taking so long.

 

Thank you again.;)

[20pluscruises]

Celebrity has 11 ships, with roughly 23,000 berths. Some cruises are only 5 days long, others are 15 so lets say an average of 10 days. 365 days in a year yields roughly 840,000 passengers/bookings per year.

 

As much as we would ALL like instantaneous individualized service, I think it IS quite possible that your "expectation" might very well be "unreasonable." Especially considering that many people find it necessary to make MULTIPLE calls concerning numerous details about a single booking.

 

Lets say the average is only three calls per booking, ( I have talked to MANY fellow cruisers who call Celebrity 5-10 times per booking) that makes 2.5 million phone calls annually, divided by 365 days, equals 6,850 phone calls per

 

Perhaps you could try a different TA, or an online site. I have booked 5 cruises on Celebrity through an online sight and I have never had to make more than two calls per booking, with a couple of them only requiring 1 call each.

 

My most recent experience got me a 15 night transatlantic cruise in November on Celebrity Reflection for $449pp with a $250 OBC. It required ONE phone call of less than 10 minutes to the on line site, and ONE email (requiring 3-4 minutes) to Celebrity.

 

Where do you everyone seem to find these great deals? I have been searching every popular site...warehouse stores, etc. and have never found a better price than on the Celebrity site...this includes a TA's extras...includes, OBC, beverage pkg, discount. Celebrity has always come in at a lower price even after adding in all the TA's extras.

 

Am I doing something wrong?

[retired067]

I smile as I read this thread, to this point in time I've no issues with X 's email or phone service. then again I don't have too many questions after I book. As for info on FORMAL NIGHTS (the most talked topic) if you can't find the answers ( after a little research) on this site, they don't exist.

[Hlitner]

Just one more reason why we prefer dealing with large Cruise/Travel Agencies. When we need info of want to change something we just make a quick call to one of our TAs (we book a lot of cruises and utilize 4 different TAs) (never on hold more then a few seconds) or just fire off a quick e-mail.

 

I might add that perhaps hold times at Celebrity would not be such a problem if folks did not tie up their lines with questions like, "when are the formal nights," "who are the Guest Entertainers," "who is the Cruise Director," "does the crew sleep aboard," etc. Those kind of questions are probably best answered right here on CC where the answers are probably more a accurate then what you will get from an X phone clerk who may have never even been on a cruise.

 

But if you think Celebrity is bad just trying dealing with Delta Airlines. 3 weeks ago Delta changed our flights in the middle of the night the day we were supposed to fly to Puerto Vallarta. When I woke up at 4am, to go to the airport, I saw the e-mail from Delta and had some big issues. So I called Delta only to get a recording that we would be on hold "at least 3 hours." Needless to say we did not wait, but simply drove to the airport where we could talk to a real human.

 

Hank

Edited January 20, 2014 by Hlitner

[jaybird from SC]

In all our years of cruising, we have never had a problem with Celebrity that that didn't handle quickly and officially. Most information we can find out online but when we have made a phone call there has always been a helpful and quick response.

[Jade13]

If you haven't done so already, transfer to a travel agent and get them to take care of these issues for you.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Jade13

[teecee60]

Where do you everyone seem to find these great deals? I have been searching every popular site...warehouse stores, etc. and have never found a better price than on the Celebrity site...this includes a TA's extras...includes, OBC, beverage pkg, discount. Celebrity has always come in at a lower price even after adding in all the TA's extras.

 

Am I doing something wrong?

 

Our differing statements sound counter intuitive and impossible to reconcile...

 

...but I have found exactly the opposite! :eek: :o :confused:

 

The biggest difference between me, and what I think is the typical (especially) Celebrity cruiser, is I almost always book after final payment date now.

 

The cruise I really wanted to be on this past fall was not the Reflection, but the 27 night B2B Constellation cruise from Istanbul to Rome to Florida. Prices were high until just a couple of weeks after final payment, when BOTH legs crashed to the $499pp/$599pp level. Those prices WERE on Celebrity as well, but X was not offering the online site's $100-$200 OBC which WAS combinable with shareholder credit from Celebrity... ON BOTH LEGS!

 

It was a similar story for Equinox from Barcelona this past fall, the price was $999-$1099 for MONTHS, but just after final payment, it dropped to $699pp.

 

In addition, dirt cheap fares on Choice Air are still available at those later dates. I flew to Rome for $508 just 8 days after booking.

 

I ALWAYS check the Celebrity website, MY favorite website, and the VERY popular, especially-with-Celebrity-cruisers, website before booking. (OVER 25% of the people on the Reflection transatlantic booked through that site, and that company almost always has agents on board X T/As now.)

 

If the price from Celebrity goes to a "Tuesday Special" level you usually can't get the drink package at that point anyway.

 

I just made "Elite" on my last cruise, (before the changes took effect) and my cost for each of the 5 fares, on 5 Celebrity cruises, of 14 or 15 nights each, was $799, $599, $609, $599 and $449. :D (and EACH had a MINIMUM of $250 OBC, one had $400 OBC)

 

The "FANTASTIC DEALS" come and go with supply and demand, but if you have the flexibility, you can cruise for ONE HALF or even ONE FOURTH what other people, booking 6-18 months in advance, are paying.

Edited January 20, 2014 by teecee60

[20pluscruises]

Our differing statements sound counter intuitive and impossible to reconcile...

 

...but I have found exactly the opposite! :eek: :o :confused:

 

The biggest difference between me, and what I think is the typical (especially) Celebrity cruiser, is I almost always book after final payment date now.

 

The cruise I really wanted to be on this past fall was not the Reflection, but the 27 night B2B Constellation cruise from Istanbul to Rome to Florida. Prices were high until just a couple of weeks after final payment, when BOTH legs crashed to the $499pp/$599pp level. Those prices WERE on Celebrity as well, but X was not offering the online site's $100-$200 OBC which WAS combinable with shareholder credit from Celebrity... ON BOTH LEGS!

 

It was a similar story for Equinox from Barcelona this past fall, the price was $999-$1099 for MONTHS, but just after final payment, it dropped to $699pp.

 

I ALWAYS check the Celebrity website, MY favorite website, and the VERY popular, especially-with-Celebrity-cruisers, website before booking. (OVER 25% of the people on the Reflection transatlantic booked through that site, and that company almost always has agents on board X T/As now.)

 

If the price from Celebrity goes to a "Tuesday Special" level you usually can't get the drink package at that point anyway.

 

I just made "Elite" on my last cruise, (before the changes took effect) and my cost for each of the 5 fares, on 5 Celebrity cruises, of 14 or 15 nights each, was $799, $599, $609, $599 and $449. :D (and EACH had a MINIMUM of $250 OBC, one had $400 OBC)

 

We did book after final payment date...and still with all the extras the TA site offered...Celebrity was $50 less...of course you have to go through all the steps on the TA site to get the bottom dollar (which I did).

 

Maybe it could be the category I'm looking at?

[teecee60]

We did book after final payment date...and still with all the extras the TA site offered...Celebrity was $50 less...of course you have to go through all the steps on the TA site to get the bottom dollar (which I did).

 

Maybe it could be the category I'm looking at?

 

From your description, that website sounds like it could be the one that is so popular with a lot of Celebrity cruisers. I dislike it because of all those steps, (and what I consider their sometimes less than straight forward advertising) but they are famous for their OBCs and other added perks. I would have no problem booking with them. (they always promise to "match" any deal, but I have never seen them BEAT the prices on my favorite site.)

 

Each separate room category (for every sailing) has its own supply and demand curves... and therefore price. I have often seen insides priced higher than ocean views, and OVs higher than balconies, all because of availability.

 

Again, flexibility comes into play, if you MUST have a specific date, category, deck, or cabin number, you WILL pay for it. If you can go down one category, or one deck, you can save HUNDREDS. (or more)

 

Good luck in whatever you choose... and happy cruising! :)

Edited January 20, 2014 by teecee60

[20pluscruises]

From your description, that website sounds like it could be the one that is so popular with a lot of Celebrity cruisers. I dislike it because of all those steps, (and what I consider their sometimes less than straight forward advertising) but they are famous for their OBCs and other added perks. I would have no problem booking with them. (they always promise to "match" any deal, but I have never seen them BEAT the prices on my favorite site.)

 

Each separate room category (for every sailing) has its own supply and demand curves... and therefore price. I have often seen insides priced higher than ocean views, and OVs higher than balconies, all because of availability.

 

Again, flexibility comes into play, if you MUST have a specific date, category, deck, or cabin number, you WILL pay for it. If you can go down one category, or one deck, you can save HUNDREDS. (or more)

 

Good luck in whatever you choose... and happy cruising! :)

 

Thanks! Maybe Aqua Class is difficult to offer a better price...makes sense..less inventory.

[Celebrity Cruises]

Appreciate your help.:)

 

But I have been waiting nearly three months for a simple solution, to very very small problem, and I was just making public point on CC, because Celebrity published on CC, an offer to assist.

 

Sadly, the assistance volunteered, also published, by Celebrity 10 days ago on CC, failed to materialise, even after I complied fully, in writing, with the Celebrity written request.

 

One is a little peeved, also irritated, that something so simple is taking so long.

 

Thank you again.;)

 

Apologies, we're still looking into it. We have to coordinate with our office in England, and today was a national holiday in the United States. We'll try to see what the status is tomorrow, and will request (again) for someone to reach out to you.

[riclop]

I booked a 7 day Caribe Cruise on the Silhouette on Tuesday. I had to call them back on Wednesday to upgrade our drink packages and was on hold for about 25 minutes. Just a few minutes ago I called to ask a question about the formal nights. I was on hold for exactly 32 minutes. This was after the automated system told me it would be a "13 minute" wait.

 

Before I booked I called to ask a question and the call was picked up in 2 minutes. I am getting the feeling that once they have your money they treat you like a second class citizen. I tried to use their website to get the answers to my questions, but it has not been working properly over the past several days either!

 

This is our 4th cruise with them and I am not seeing the same level of professionalism from the company as I experienced in the past. The crews on the ships have been great, it's the way they are running their call centers that I am unhappy about.

 

Very disappointing service from a company holding itself out to be a "luxury" line.

Very true.

[PORT ROYAL]

Apologies, we're still looking into it. We have to coordinate with our office in England, and today was a national holiday in the United States. We'll try to see what the status is tomorrow, and will request (again) for someone to reach out to you.

 

Many thanks for your understanding and support.

But one is greatly saddened by the treatment of an E+ guest by the brand which is actually respected and loved.

[PORT ROYAL]

Many thanks for your understanding and support.

But one is greatly saddened by the treatment of an E+ guest by the brand which is actually respected and loved.

 

Dear Celebrity

Just received an E- mail from yourselves

Cut/Copy/Paste

 

Send

Apologies, but can you please send 1 email with all the information. We'll pass it on again,and see if they can assist.

 

Reply

To say one is appalled by this request is an understatement.

You had all the information by E-mail to the address you requested together

with subsequent reminders.

To ask again for a re-send begs the question that Celebrity has actually lost it.

Question: Have you lost it?

Please answer with a YES or NO only

 

:eek::confused:

Edited January 21, 2014 by PORT ROYAL