Super Upset with Celebrity, Worst cruise ever!!

[boogs]

Hope all is well in CA. (yes he DOES live there)

 

He lists his location as Gilroy, which can never be confused with San Jose. Gilroy is a rural community about 30 miles south of San Jose known only for the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Not much more happens there. Blink and you will miss it as you drive past it on your way to anywhere else. The biggest excitement is watching the sidewalk rolling machine doing it's job each evening at dinner time.

 

This geography lesson is brought to you by the City of San Jose, the technology capitol of Silicon Valley. ;)

 

Perhaps since I actually live in San Jose, I should change my username to wherethehellisgilroy? :rolleyes:

 

For those of you who may be wondering what this has to do with cruising - San Jose is 30 miles closer than Gilroy to the nearest cruise terminal in San Francisco. There, now it's about cruising! :D:):cool:

Edited April 16, 2014 by boogs

[micmacmissy]

I feel for the OP. We cruised on both a Royal Caribbean ship and Celebrity Silhouette within the last year.

 

My Time Dining on Royal was handled beautifully...no waits, same staff each night, attentive maitre d' and wait staff.

 

Select Time Dining on Silhouette was a hot mess: reservations screwed up (they wouldn't/couldn't fix them), our party of 4 was split into 2 separate times (early/late). When we FINALLY got to the dining room we were made to wait at least 30 min for a table each night.

 

Shuffled around to whatever waiter was available...Celebrity, get your act together and take some lessons from Royal Caribbean on how to handle your dining room! They should have this ironed out by now.

 

(I will say the dining screw ups were the only problems with our cruise...and it did drive us to specialty restaurants on 3 nights just to avoid the stress of the MDR...)

[Kevnzworld]

The thing with Celebrity is when the service is good, it can be really good. When there is a dining room management problem , it can be awful. My last Celebrity cruise was a B2B on the infinity, Harwich to Miami , 10/13. 27 days

The service in Blu in the morning was so disjointed and bad, it was almost funny. Numerous times I had to ask the maître d,if anyone was going to take our order (after waiting for 20-30 minutes, and offered bread juice by the roving servers ).

The evening service was equally confused and only somewhat better,

Unfortunately the OP 's experience sounds familiar. I would have talked to the host, and been persistent versus going to the front desk.

[davekathy]

We did a B2B Cruise on the Summit 29 March and 5 April 2014 and for us everything was "FANTASTIC". Maybe we are easy to please. Too each their own.

[wwcruisers]

We had dining issues that then turned into front desk issues and never being directed to the person who could have fixed this all on night 1. It started with for some reason we were changed from early dining to late even though we had confirmed early and stated so on our documents. We were seated and then saw no one in our section working for the first 20 minutes of the assigned dining time, other tables as well had the same issue, then the first person came to our tables, dropped menus, mubbled something and was gone. Someone else came back took our order and left. Our app came out, delivered by another person we had not seen. then it really was 40 minutes later and another person came took our app plates away and replaced with entree (our other apps were never delivered) and the food was cold. I am not talking warm not hot, not even warm. We waitied and waitied and no one ever came back. So we (and many other tables) left. I went to thr hostest stand to talk with the manager but the hostess was gone. So we went to the front desk and asked for help. Long story short it took 4 nights for us to talk face to face with someone, we kept getting passed onto others and the reason they kept giving us was that they are very busy. so and so can't help you they are busy. the dining manager is busy he usually takes 2-3 days to reply. Needless to say other issues had also arrived and everytime we tried to work with the front desk they were not helpful. Never was i expecting anything except an I'm sorry and lets fix this. No one could tell us why our dinner was changed, they told me I was wrong I never had early dining, when I produced the paperwork, then it was I must have changed it on line to late seating. I don't care why can it be fixed. after being told no by several people at the front desk when we finally talked to to dining manager 4 nights later it is switched and in talking to our new dining staff, they were bored becasue the early eating was very empty and they all had to many empty tables.

 

OP -- thank you for coming back to clarify the issue. I do have to say that the title of your thread got my attention, as we will be sailing Summit for the first time, later this year.

 

And please, do not take this as criticism -- sounds like you handled things as well as you could, given the circumstances. But, I would have insisted on speaking to the Maitre'd, on the first night -- when they screwed up the dining time. And, after the terrible service on night one, I would have asked for him -- again. Although Guest Relations is great at addressing many problems, I have found that the dining room is a world unto itself. To deal with issues with food or service, you really have to go to the head Maitre'd (dining room manager).

 

There is absolutely no excuse for him taking so long to get back to you. I would have asked to speak to the Hotel Director, if the dining room manager did not give me a satisfactory response, within 24 hours. Sometimes you just have to dig your heels in, and politely refuse to go away, until someone in charge addresses your issues.

 

At this point, I think your best option is to contact Corporate, using the info Lois provided. I find that snail mail letters (complete with dates, names, and facts) work best for me. However, others prefer to call or e-mail. Either way -- good luck, and (if you're feeling brave ;)) -- come back and tell us how things work out.

[DavyJoneses]

Sorry you had a bad experience. Hopefully the next one will be much better.

[sabookkeeper]

Ok, thank all of you who answered and did not judge.

 

I did not mean to tease anyone or fan any flames. We had the same room, attenedant who was awesome.

 

We had dining issues that then turned into front desk issues and never being directed to the person who could have fixed this all on night 1. It started with for some reason we were changed from early dining to late even though we had confirmed early and stated so on our documents. We were seated and then saw no one in our section working for the first 20 minutes of the assigned dining time, other tables as well had the same issue, then the first person came to our tables, dropped menus, mubbled something and was gone. Someone else came back took our order and left. Our app came out, delivered by another person we had not seen. then it really was 40 minutes later and another person came took our app plates away and replaced with entree (our other apps were never delivered) and the food was cold. I am not talking warm not hot, not even warm. We waitied and waitied and no one ever came back. So we (and many other tables) left. I went to thr hostest stand to talk with the manager but the hostess was gone. So we went to the front desk and asked for help. Long story short it took 4 nights for us to talk face to face with someone, we kept getting passed onto others and the reason they kept giving us was that they are very busy. so and so can't help you they are busy. the dining manager is busy he usually takes 2-3 days to reply. Needless to say other issues had also arrived and everytime we tried to work with the front desk they were not helpful. Never was i expecting anything except an I'm sorry and lets fix this. No one could tell us why our dinner was changed, they told me I was wrong I never had early dining, when I produced the paperwork, then it was I must have changed it on line to late seating. I don't care why can it be fixed. after being told no by several people at the front desk when we finally talked to to dining manager 4 nights later it is switched and in talking to our new dining staff, they were bored becasue the early eating was very empty and they all had to many empty tables.

 

Then to come home and find our room charges all messed up. We were 2 people (not related) and we each had established seperate accounts for our charges and we came back to it all mixed up on each others cards and not a simple I got hers and she got mine, it is all over the place mixed up.

Thanks for sharing what happened to you. We are pretty easy going, however, I know if that happened to us DH would be the first one at guest services complaining. Even if there were new staff, where was the Head Waiter who should be keeping track of what is going on! Hopefully you will get a response from HQ. It won't change what you went through but at least you will know that they listened and hopefully looked into it to see who was at fault so it doesn't happen to someone else.

[Iamthesea]

lthouseprincess - WHOA...that is a drastic change. :eek: So sorry that happened to you.

 

Could you please tell me if that was in Select or Traditional dining?

 

Traditional late...why do you ask? :confused:;) Were you on the same cruise?:)

 

I didn't read any more of the drama past the first page so someone else may have answered it.

 

You should have received a questionnaire to rate the cruise thru a email. It has to be completed within one week of the cruise. There is a section to make comments. This is now taking place of the form that they use to use.

 

This reminds me. I have been home from my cruise a week and a half and still no survey. Celebrity even has two emails for me. I was planning on giving great marks, too! I'll have to ask my daughters if they received one.

[Cruising89143]

 

This reminds me. I have been home from my cruise a week and a half and still no survey. Celebrity even has two emails for me. I was planning on giving great marks, too! I'll have to ask my daughters if they received one.

 

Have you checked your spam file?

[Puckhog]

when I don't get quality service I just remove all tips

[JenGTravels]

Very sorry to hear that happened to you.

 

I was also on the 4/5 Summit cruise and had the exact opposite experience in the dining room. The waiter and assistant waiter were the best I have ever had. It is a shame that everyone didn't get that same service.

 

Our group did have some issues with room charges that needed to be taken care of post cruise.

 

Overall it was a great trip though.

[Dandylyon]

So sorry you had dining, front desk, and charging issues. I hope your next cruise is better!

 

And, to those who say it's not the worst cruise ever, I don't think she meant that it was the worst cruise anyone has ever had, just the worst one she had.

 

I can certainly see why these events would upset the mood of your cruise experience.

[Ma Bell]

Sorry to hear of your problems. I hope they do something for you.

[C 2 C]

If you have billing problems, contact your credit card and report a "deny payment procedure". I don't know if the same term is used with various cards but it forces the billing company to prove the charges.

 

On one of our recent cruises we also had a table size and dining time conflict sprung upon us. The assistant maitre'd in charge shrugged his shoulder and said he would try to make a change. I know they have many requests every cruise but there is a sense of urgency on the part of the passenger not shared by some staff in charge. Reluctance of front office staff to take ownership of an issue and become dismissive of a passenger problem is inexcusable.

 

Good luck resolving your issues but remember how wonderful your first experience was on the back to back.

[ghstudio]

There seem to be times when major crew changes take place and most likely you hit one of those times. Many new waiters asst managers dining room manager and so on. If the dining room manager couldn't talk to you for 2-3 days, he was either learning his job or had to organize and train many new faces. Sounds like both were happening on your cruise. Guest services ducks behind procedure rather than trying to help...it's a mess. By the next cruise, they probably got it right, not that it helps you.

 

Someone in celebrity he really should address your experience. You might drop a note to contact_michael@celebrity.com and calmly summarize your experience. That's a special mail address to reach Michael Bayley, celebrity's CEO.

[milesfromu]

As sad as it is to see other guests of this sailing disappointed with the service, it is somewhat comforting to know that we were not the only repeat X customers unsatisfied with service. We had maintenance problems with our cabin that were reported twice that went unaddressed, dreadfully slow service in the "Select" dining room (3 hours to complete a meal without dessert), lack of beverage, wine, and coffee service in the dining room on multiple occasions. Additionally, venue hours of operation had been cut back and bar staff on 10 were inundated, which led to rather unfriendly service at times. We too are taking a break from X for awhile.

[Wrangler777]

As sad as it is to see other guests of this sailing disappointed with the service, it is somewhat comforting to know that we were not the only repeat X customers unsatisfied with service. We had maintenance problems with our cabin that were reported twice that went unaddressed, dreadfully slow service in the "Select" dining room (3 hours to complete a meal without dessert), lack of beverage, wine, and coffee service in the dining room on multiple occasions. Additionally, venue hours of operation had been cut back and bar staff on 10 were inundated, which led to rather unfriendly service at times. We too are taking a break from X for awhile.

 

Seems we shared similar experiences. Provided feedback to Guest Relations onboard and through the web survey upon our return. Have not received anything from X and do not expect to.

[CruisingChick]

Thank you to the OP for coming back and letting us know what happened on your sailing.

 

It helps future cruisers learn that if you encounter a problem with the dining room that speaking to the Restaurant Manager immediately could fix the problem so it doesn't ruin one's cruise.

 

My DH and I always check once we get to our stateroom on embarkation our dining time and table number. Then we go down to make sure our table is a group of 8-10, that way if there is a problem we can fix it, hopefully, right away.

[Iamthesea]

Have you checked your spam file?

 

Yes, not received. :confused:

 

Hi all,

it was our worst cruise and our 4th+5th on Celebrity.

We have booked Aqua Class and the best on this cruise was Blu and Luigi, Maitre of Blu.

Our Cabin was not clean as we came in S.J. I had to ask our S.A. to clean it once more. He was never in the floor and I tried to call him, he didn't picked up the phone. There were no beach towels at the evening before in the cabin, not on one evening, we had to find our S.A. at the morning. I've asked some people from the Guest Relations, if they have less stuff on this cruise, no. It was as we have booked an another cruise line, so different. AC was still so cold in the night, that I had to call G.R., they managed that twiced. The second week was same as first. We met huge people they said this same. Master Captain had one "girlfriend" in the first week and another in the second... and was every day seating in Al Bacio for a long time, Cpt. Alex too, who was on the bridge??

We found more wholes in the bed linen (Aqua Class!!) and, and, and.....never ending story.

We decided to make a break in cruises for 2015. Probably we will change the cruise line. The only really good is Blu, best Stuff, good food, the best Maitre.

 

Doro

 

Hi Dorota! :) It's Sallie from your Adriatic cruise last May. Sorry that your cruise this year did not turn out so well. :( What ship were you on?

 

We leave in 4 weeks for a Baltics cruise out of Amsterdam, but will first fly to Germany to visit with our friends from another cruise. We fly to DUS, where we meet up with them, and then fly to Berlin for a couple of days before going to their hometown of Bocholt. From there, our friends will take us to Amsterdam where we will tour for 2 days before boarding the ship...Constellation. ;) Hallo to Dariusz!

Edited April 17, 2014 by Iamthesea

[clojacks]

My wife and I sailed on the Summit in February and it was the worst cruise we have ever experienced from a guest relations competency cruise that we have ever taken. if you search my posts, you can go back and find it. I was torched for posting my sentiments in here by a number of the Celebrity fan club. It was about our 11th or 12th cruise but first on Celebrity, and at the time, I had reservations about EVER sailing with Celebrity again. We submitted a detailed 3 page comment card, and never heard a word from anybody with Celebrity after leaving email addresses and phone numbers. I don't know if this is reflective of Celebrity as a line, or the Summit as a lone ship, but whoever the Guest Relations staff answers to, better take a quick hard look at what is being said about their performance.

[ghstudio]

My wife and I sailed on the Summit in February and it was the worst cruise we have ever experienced from a guest relations competency cruise that we have ever taken. if you search my posts, you can go back and find it. I was torched for posting my sentiments in here by a number of the Celebrity fan club. It was about our 11th or 12th cruise but first on Celebrity, and at the time, I had reservations about EVER sailing with Celebrity again. We submitted a detailed 3 page comment card, and never heard a word from anybody with Celebrity after leaving email addresses and phone numbers. I don't know if this is reflective of Celebrity as a line, or the Summit as a lone ship, but whoever the Guest Relations staff answers to, better take a quick hard look at what is being said about their performance.

 

You are making an assumption that someone at celebrity really cares, now that you are off the ship. Don't hold your breath for any reaction or comment from them

[NLH Arizona]

Just wondering if any of those with problems went to the cruise critic meet and greet? Usually, at least on the ones I've gone to, the management staff gives out their cards or phone numbers to call if there is a problem. I've never had to call, but what some have said on here is that a simple call to one of the management staff solved their issues immediately.

[lthouseprincess]

Thank you everyone. While yes I know this was not the worst cruise ever, this was the worst cruise that I have ever had and yes I know it could have been much much worse. The rest of the ship was perfect, all areas were very clean. The pool area was amazing, we always were able to find good chairs. At night we would go up to the top deck and you would think we were the only ones on the ship. I really enjoyed the ship itself. I thought it was very clean our room attened we barely ever saw but everything was always perfect and taken care of just like magic. We actually tipped him more.

 

Ship wise I would sail the Summit again, it was the service that really makes me rethink it. I was trying to get this resolved while on the ship. While I understand that the buffet is a option that many people love and I love for lunch, I really look forward to the dinners in the dining room and am really sad that 5 out of 7 nights was bland buffet for what I paid for the cruise.

 

I am not looking for any reimbursement or compensation or anything like that, I just want to know that this is not normal or acceptable service. it really got worse and I was almost in tears becasue I was trying not to get upset and I will not ever raise my voice to someone but some of the things that they were saying when I was trying to esclate this was really making me angry. Maybe I was too much of a push over becasue I know some of the things they were telling me were not true.

Edited April 17, 2014 by lthouseprincess

[Iamthesea]

There is no Meet & Greet on the short cruises, but I will be curious to see if cards are handed out on my upcoming 12 nighter. I don't recall ever getting them before.;)

Edited April 17, 2014 by Iamthesea

[MommaBear55]

I have been on two Celebrity cruises and enjoyed them both, especially for the entertainment and the music. In both cases we were less than impressed with the cleanliness and the staff. The staff seemed uninterested in making the cruise extra special, except for the MDR. For us, the service was good on one cruise and very good on the next cruise. Both times we did any time dining. We are reasonably easy to please and are always happy to be on vacation.

 

Having said that, I have taken 7 or 8 cruises on Royal Caribbean and always have an amazing experience. The difference in the two lines, despite they share the same parent company, is striking. The staff on RCI seems to be invested in their ship and the passengers. The ships are always clean and the service attentive.

 

Would I sail Celebrity again? Yes, if they offered a cruise itinerary that I really wanted at a time that worked for me at the right price. However, I do not seek them out. I understand the Blu experience really sets it apart. I do actively seek out Royal Caribbean ships. I hope management hears people's concerns and steps up the service, so passengers can feel that Celebrity is truly a step above Royal Caribbean.