Celebrity Cruises - dropped ball on our 50th

[anonymousegirl]

I would be more disappointed with your TA if THEY didn't send you something. Your business should be important to them. THEY "offered the recognition" (in your words) not Celebrity. Should Celebrity have done something? Yes, they should have, but they didn't promise anything, your TA did.

 

AGREE!

 

My clients get something from me each time they cruise--sometimes before the cruise or land tour if I don't like what's on offer or it's too pricey. On Princess, it is the Balcony Breakfast, on HAL, it is dinner at the Pinnacle restaurant. Celebrity varies based on my client.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Thank you for posting. I think it is important to let others know that you won't automatically get a cake even if your travel agent gives you that impression. I would have definitely reminded the matre d' at Blu about the anniversary. I would have wanted to know if they were going to do a cake. If not, I would asked about having one made for the following night. It sounds like that was important to you and I wouldn't have left it to chance. Things like this do get lost in the mix unfortunately.

Edited July 10, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[PTMary]

(so many things have a charge these days that once upon a time were complimentary !)

 

Please tell us what these "many things" are. I want to know what they all are so I can make sure I cruise on a line that still has them as complimentary.

 

Thank you.

Edited July 10, 2014 by PTMary

[claymour]

It is disappointing when our hopes go unfulfilled. Sounds like there was a major mis-communication between your TA and you. Celebrity does offer various honeymoon/anniversary packages. One from the Celebrity website:

 

For the ultimate honeymoon or anniversary celebration, indulge with Celebrity's Premium Package. In your plush Celebrity robes and slippers, enjoy a mimosa breakfast for two in bed. In the evening, savor an exquisite specialty dining experience before retiring to your stateroom. At turndown, enjoy rose petals sprinkled on the bed. Delight in chocolate dipped strawberries and toast your Perrier Jouet champagne to the future.

 

Anyway, thanks for bringing up the topic. We are celebrating our 25th anniversary on our upcoming cruise, and I will gleefully point DH to a few of the posts discussed in this topic :)

 

 

I have purchased that pkg for our September cruise on the Century. When booking it, they told me how to go about surprising my guy with it for our 10 yrs together...will let you know how it goes.

 

Debbie

[cruisegirl1]

A few cruises ago Celebrity presented us with a small chocolate cake “for our Anniversary”. Only one problem, it was NOT our anniversary. Not sure if they somehow mixed our name up with someone else. ( we were in Blu and it seemed like they knew everyone). When we told them it was not our anniversary, they thought we were kidding and jokingly accused us of saying that to avoid the attention and treat. At that point we smiled, said thank you and took a bite of cake..

 

M

[wallie5446]

We have cruised for our 5th, 10th, 15th, 25th, and 30th, across 4 different lines. For Birthdays 30th, 40th, my wife's 50th, and this next one for my 60th. Some booked thru TA's some booked direct. I take a firm handle to make sure everything happens the way we want. No leaving something this special up to someone else. Sorry yours did not come about the way you would have liked.

 

Congrats on ya'lls 50th! I can only hope I have the chance to still be able to cruise when ours comes up in 18 years!

Edited July 11, 2014 by wallie5446

[warmwinds]

On one cruise for our anniversary I wanted to surprise my husband by having the band play "our" song. I wrote a note requesting this, the occasion, the song, etc. and handed it to the band member when my husband was in the restroom. The note said what time the next night since we were heading for the Olympic restaurant at such and such a time, blah, blah, thank you, blah blah.

 

The next night I waited for "our" song. And waited. And finally had to leave for dinner, I was so disappointed but my husband had no idea.

 

After dinner I went back to the lounge and asked what happened, why did they forget.

 

All I got was a blank stare.

 

None of them spoke a word of English. I might as well have given them a note written in hieroglyphics.

 

I then told my husband we laugh about it to this day.

[gek]

I guess I'm even mor eupset, because one of the head waiters in the Ocean View (deck 14) stopped and asked us one day if it wa sour 1st cruise, and we said no, our 6th. He asked if it was a special occassion,

and we said yes, our 50th anniversary. He took out a small notebook,

and made note of our names, cabin number, when teh anniversary was

supposed to be recognized, and said he wanted to follow up,

and make sure that is was in fact recognized. Nice of him to think of doing, but maybe he forgot that he wrote it down ?

Just another reason to wonder what happened, and why ?

 

Given that Celebrity were clearly aware of your anniversary it does seem strange they did nothing at all. Certainly they don't give any guarantees but I agree that they "dropped the ball". I can't think of many cruises/flights/hotels/resorts/restaurants I have been on/to where there hasn't been some small acknowledgement of any special occasion I might be celebrating - assuming that the staff were aware of it.

 

However I'm wondering what your TA actually promised. I wouldn't expect much more than a small cake or card. Is it possible your TA gave you some unrealistic expectations? Unless I pre-arranged something I certainly wouldn't be expecting a major celebration.

[mistershine]

I'm sorry but this sounds absurdly childish to me. You had an amazing time for six days but your cruise was ruined in its entirety because on the 7th day Celebrity neglected to have singing waiters bring you a small cake? Seriously?

 

I was NOT expecting "singing waiters", and I do not appreciate your attitude - seriously...

 

We expected the event, a huge one in the scope of things,

to be "recognized" - and if you read everything, you would know that

even their Guest Relations person onboard, said it was "unacceptable",

and said they usually put a sign on your cabin door, have a small cake

at the dinner, and you might get invited to a cocktail party with

others who were celebrating their anniversaries.

 

Thank you to everone else for their anniversary wishes.

I posted a question to see if anyone else had experienced anything

like this.

 

Also, to the comments stating I should have ordered something special

to celebrate the anniversary - I didn't realize that there were other

things that could be ordered - never visited the Celebrity site - we went

into AAA, discussed options with a travel agent, and decided on this cruise.

This was not the only way to celebrate - my wife and I did have a very

nice anniversary dinner in Seattle on our actual anniversary June 6th,

and I gave her a special present - gold is for Golden anniversaries.

 

We had an excellent cruise - perhaps I exagerated a little saying

that it ruined the cruise - perhaps I should have worded that differently.

 

Thank you to everyone for their opinions, both good and bad.

We realy enjoy cruising, and hope we continue to have our health,

so we can take more cruises.

[Nancyquilts]

Along with many others, I'm so sorry your plans didn't work out this time. Fifty years is pretty special, and we tend to trust our TAs and the ship staff to follow up on what we want. Fifty-one years is special too. Hope you have a better travel agent for that cruise. And welcome to cruise critic.:D

[ScarlettMLB]

Believe me, this is not something that is ever offered by Celebrity. It's not a part of any package or promotion. This is something that they do when possible if they know about a special occasion. Your TA probably gave you the wrong impression of what would happen. Independent of anything that Celebrity might have done, the TA should have sent you something. A bottle, flowers, extra OBC, something. That they didn't would cause me to seek out another TA. I'm still interested to learn if dining in Blu was a factor. I feel that it may have been.

 

I received an anniversary cake in Blu in January 2013 (Reflection)...here's our story:

 

My (live-in) boyfriend and I were taking a cruise to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. When booking the TA asked if we were celebrating anything and I said our anniversary and she must have asked the date. I honestly forgot all about the discussion.

 

We had a suite and were told that we could eat in Blu space available. We decided that our actual anniversary would be a good time to try that, so stopped in to see if they had space (they did). We had a lovely meal and at the end I was completely surprised when they presented us with a cake and sang. I expressed my surprise (and delight) to the waiter, who was very proud of himself and said something like "I bet you thought we wouldn't find you in here."

 

This really was a lovely way to celebrate our anniversary and now that I've experienced it, I can see how someone would be disappointed if they were expecting it and didn't get it.

 

A couple of thoughts on why it maybe worked out for us:

- Our anniversary was Day 3 of the 7 day cruise. The OP mentioned that they were expecting it on Day 7. Given that those supplies are probably stocked at the beginning of the cruise, it could be that people celebrating near the beginning have a better shot of getting a cake.

 

- We were there during our actual anniversary. I think the original poster commented that their actual anniversary was June 6, which sounded like the day they arrived back in Seattle. So the day they were expecting the surprise was likely June 5. If the TA input their actual anniversary of June 6 into the computer, then it may not have triggered in Celebrity's computers to do anything.

 

I do feel a little bad that we got a cake for our 2nd anniversary, when the OP had a 50th anniversary. However, I doubt that Celebrity computers are really set up for that level of granularity. They probably have a field that says "Special Occasion" and a drop down that lists generic occasions (ie: anniversary, birthday, other) and then a calendar select for date. So my guess is that they can't distinguish between a milestone vs a regular celebration. They probably do the best they can, but they don't guarantee anything because they don't know for sure if they'll run out of supplies or for some other reason be unable to honor it.

[24butterfly]

My wife and I recently took the Solstice out of Seattle, on a very enjoyable Alaska cruise.

We had a great 6 days - everything was excellent.

The 7th/last day ended up being a huge letdown - ruining the cruise.

 

Our 50th wedding anniversary was supposed to be celebrated that night,

and absolutely nothing was done.

 

A real disappointment.

 

I have had some contact with representatives of Celebrity/Royal Carribean

since the cruise, but they have no explanation as to why this happened, except to say there is NO GUARANTEE that any celebration will happen for any occassion such as our 50th.

 

Their apologies have been less than sincere.

 

Has anyone else experienced anything like this ?

 

I am very disappointed that they dropped the ball on a major event,

and perhaps more angered that they are just brushing it off lightly.

Like its no big deal, sorry...

 

Thank you - Rich

 

Let's see---

Anonymous people that you will never see again not coming to you and wishing you Happy Anniversary.

I hope this is your worst problem in life.

I'll be thrilled if my husband and I lived long enough and made it to our 50th.

Edited July 11, 2014 by 24butterfly

[MR_T]

I'm sorry but this sounds absurdly childish to me. You had an amazing time for six days but your cruise was ruined in its entirety because on the 7th day Celebrity neglected to have singing waiters bring you a small cake? Seriously?

 

 

Agreed! Ridiculous...

[upwarduk]

nice anniversary dinner in Seattle on our actual anniversary June 6th,

 

Now I think this is the reason why nothing was done.

Your anniversary didn't happen while you were sailing!

 

In 2012, I booked a cruise to celebrate my 70th birthday, which was subsequently cancelled by RCCL. We rescheduled to a Celebrity cruise and our TA mentioned on the phone when booking that it was a cruise to celebrate my 70th birthday. She was told that the occasion had to happen while on the ship.

 

There is a Post Script to this story.

As it was the companies fault that our original cruise was cancelled, arrangements were made and my cake arrived on the 2nd night of the cruise. However, something was lost in the translation and the waiters joined my husbands & my hands together and sang Happy 70th Anniversary to us!!!:cool:

We celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary next year!

Edited July 11, 2014 by upwarduk

[H2OH!]

Thank you for the follow-up details. After hearing all these stories, I'll make sure not to have any hopes for my 60th birthday celebration on our TA next year. And I'll let my husband know so he can start planning a way to make it all better for me.

 

I hope you are kidding. all this hoopla over a free cake? Really?

 

I don't believe that the OPs did anything wrong in this case. They are not experienced Celebrity cruisers and counted on the expertise of their TA. As I said before, and won't say again, they were led to believe by their TA that there would be something special for them. When nothing was done they believed that it was Celebrity's fault. They weren't displaying any sense of entitlement, they just wanted what they believed was promised. A promise that the TA made and was not in a position to deliver. What the TA could deliver, they didn't. End of story.

 

I agree 100%!

[Ex-Airbalancer]

This was not the only way to celebrate - my wife and I did have a very

nice anniversary dinner in Seattle on our actual anniversary June 6th,

 

Seriously,

 

As a shareholder , I would not expect them to do anything for your anniversary

[CathyCruises]

I am truly sorry that the OP and his wife were so disappointed. Had I been celebrating a momentous occasion, I would have definitely checked with Guest services to make sure that my celebration was going to be recognized. One has to realize that the communication between the land-based services and the onboard staff can be spotty at best. I also think that their travel agent dropped the ball. In any event, had I lasted 50 years in marriage, I don't think any amount of cake or singing would have been adequate celebration!!!

 

It's too bad that the OP did not find Cruise Critic prior to sailing because their expectations might have been more realistic

Edited July 11, 2014 by CathyCruises

[helen haywood]

To the person who started this thread (in case someone new to Cruise Critic doesn't know that OP stands for Original Poster), I am sorry you were disappointed and your expectations not met.

 

Congratulations on reaching your 50th anniversary!

 

I just want to stress, as others have said, that regardless of the cake issue, your TA should have given you a bottle of wine or some OBC. Simply for booking the cruise with them at all, not because of your anniversary. I mean, a good travel agent will always offer something extra when you are booking a cruise. The fact that they did not tells me, if you plan on cruising again, please do yourself a favor and find another travel agent! Shop around and call different agencies and see what OBC they offer, what their cancellation policies are, etc. You deserve better service and there are agencies that would love to give it to you.

Edited July 11, 2014 by helen haywood

[wallie5446]

, your TA should have given you a bottle of wine or some OBC. Simply for booking the cruise with them at all,.

 

They used AAA, not a real TA, just order takers, that point and click and have no authority to give anything away, let alone have any speciality knowledge. You book cheap and blame the Cruise line when the end result is disapointment.

[helen haywood]

OK, then I'll say to the OP, perhaps a "real" travel agent would be able to give you a better deal.

[lovetotraveltx]

After reading through half of this thread, I decided to check my reservation. My TA said many times they let celebrity know. I didn't see anything written so I called celebrity directly and they added our 30th anniversary on to our reservation and also asked if it was OK to be public knowledge and if it was OK to include us in a group celebration. Said yes to all of the above and it was added :)

 

50 years is incredible, as I'm pretty proud of 30 and you have us long beat :) Just be proud and hope you had an awesome celebration of your own!!!

[Ex-Airbalancer]

They used AAA, not a real TA, just order takers, that point and click and have no authority to give anything away, let alone have any speciality knowledge. You book cheap and blame the Cruise line when the end result is disapointment.

 

In Canada , CAA, same as AAA, they have are a travel agency arm

 

http://www.caasco.com/Travel.aspx

[TMLAalum]

It makes sense that nothing occurred for the OP and his DW to honor their momentous wedding anniversary since they were not aboard the Solstice on the actual day!! I'd hope that there would be a computer alert (hope is the operative word given the way the Celebrity website works) to whomever is in charge of recognizing a special occasion if stated and dated on the reservation for a passenger while on the ship.

 

I hope the OP finds it in his heart to "forgive" Celebrity for not recognizing their special anniversary since it had already occurred before they boarded ship!

Edited July 11, 2014 by TMLAalum

[boogs]

They used AAA, not a real TA, just order takers, that point and click and have no authority to give anything away, let alone have any speciality knowledge. You book cheap and blame the Cruise line when the end result is disapointment.

 

You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. With AAA you need to talk to a live TA to book anything. It's not, as you incorrectly claim, "that point and click and have no authority to give anything away, let alone have any speciality knowledge." And, they, like any TA, online or live, cannot get lower prices for you. Celebrity doesn't allow it. What they can do is provide services to help you plan and manage your vacations.

 

The OP even said that they visited their TA at the TA's office and talked to them about what they wanted, which negates every word in your uninformed statement. Quoting the OP: "we went into AAA, discussed options with a travel agent, and decided on this cruise."

 

I don't know what beef you have with AAA, but this must be the only reason you would print something so completely wrong. At least make a rudimentary attempt to be accurate when you post a comment.

 

I have been using a AAA TA for a dozen years for much of my travel planning. She has helped me in many ways, even pulling strings to get me certain benefits that I didn't qualify for. She knows her job quite well, has connections I could never develop, and has never led me astray nor disappointed me. True, some TAs are probably better than others. But to say that they "just take" orders don't have "any speciality knowledge" is just plain wrong.

Edited July 11, 2014 by boogs

[MR_T]

And, they, like any TA, online or live, cannot get lower prices for you. Celebrity doesn't allow it.

 

 

So can you explain why I have been given lower prices by my agent on all 4 of the celebrity cruises I have booked with her... On top of the extras I have been given by her agency!!

 

As Im sure plenty of other people have benefited from also!