Cruise Director bashes Cruise Critic at Meet & Greet

[ny cruisequeen]

On our recent Celebrity Constellation cruise to the Norway Fjords, the Cruise Director, ( Jay Cee) attended the Meet and Greet on the first sea day. He stood next to our Captain, and made a startling statement.

 

He said that "Cruise Critic is contributing to the demise of the cruise industry because cruisers get together on Roll Calls and arrange private excursions." These excursions "hurt the companies that run cruises, as it takes away badly needed revenue."

 

He went to say that such privately arranged excursions should be limited to very small groups only and kept private, not publicly discussed on the boards. The Captain never said a word.

 

Has anyone else had experience with a Cruise Director making such an announcement?

 

Can anyone in official Celebrity or Cruise Critic positions respond to this? In my thirty cruises, this is the first I ever heard about this issue!

[vulcan1971]

Given how I feel about the prices and variety of ship sponsored shore excursions, I might have felt compelled to stand up and say something less than pleasant to the CD in front of everyone.

 

Sent from my Samsung Note 2 on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network

[cbr663]

I don't think that it was necessarily appropriate for the CD to make such a statement at a Cruise Critic Meet & Greet. If the cruise line is seeing a reduction in passenger excursions and they can attribute it to Cruise Critic, perhaps a more appropriate response would be to not support cruise critic meet & greet sessions on the ship at all.

[Orator]

On our recent Celebrity Constellation cruise to the Norway Fjords, the Cruise Director, ( Jay Cee) attended the Meet and Greet on the first sea day. He stood next to our Captain, and made a startling statement.

 

He said that "Cruise Critic is contributing to the demise of the cruise industry because cruisers get together on Roll Calls and arrange private excursions." These excursions "hurt the companies that run cruises, as it takes away badly needed revenue."

 

He went to say that such privately arranged excursions should be limited to very small groups only and kept private, not publicly discussed on the boards. The Captain never said a word.

 

Has anyone else had experience with a Cruise Director making such an announcement?

 

Can anyone in official Celebrity or Cruise Critic positions respond to this? In my thirty cruises, this is the first I ever heard about this issue!

 

We might be saying Bye Bye to someone soon. Celebrity representatives including Captains and Hotel Directors have always praised CC and it's contributions to cruising.

[gek]

The cruise industry is more likely to be hurt by arrogant and money-grabbing comments by cruise directors than by private excursions. Perhaps they should look at lowering their ridiculously high profit margins on ship excursions first.

 

On the other hand he does have a point about those larger groups which start to act as though they have some sort of semi-official status. I'm talking about the ones whose organisers do things like set up a table in some public area to take payments from their "clients". That's just rude and rubbing it in the faces of the ship's staff.

[Orator]

I should remind the CD that Celebrity has Shop Onboard that gives a slice of their business to Celebrity while at the same time allowing a Port and Shopping Guide to make presentations encouraging passengers to spend their money with port shops that compete with those onboard.

[Lois R]

Nope, never had a CD or any other officer make that type of statement

at any public gathering. Personally, I think he was out of line for making

it.....so cruisers are costing the cruiseline money because they are

booking private tours:eek::rolleyes:.....give me a break, PLEASE.

[cynbar]

I think the cruise lines are limiting their profits by the shore excursions they sell. Almost always, ship excursions are more money, use bigger buses, and are of variable quality. If they could manage to offer interesting, competitively priced, small group excursions, I'll bet a lot more people would choose them over private tours. After all, cruisers do have more protection on a ship-sponsored tour, and know that the ship will wait if there is some sort of problem or delay. I know I usually look first at private tours despite the risk, but I'd be open to changing this if I saw good options through the ship.

[hcat]

Wow....if that's what he actually said that CD was way out of line..

 

wrong time and place and off topic in a big way....how rude to the Master of the ship and other guests..

[Gracie115]

We have always booked small (less than 10 person) private excursions when booking outside the cruiseline itself. We do this for several reasons, cost being only one. The most important one being that with a smaller group you can dictate what you want to see and not see, do and not do(shopping..ugh...) On the cruise I am currently booked on I note that there are a few people organizing excursions for up to 50 people, I've never seen that before. Perhaps those are the type of groups the CD was speaking of since that is the type of excursion so often sold by the cruiseline itself.....

 

Don't think he should have presented it the way he did but I guess the point he was making is that it must look like there are private tour operators gathering large groups of people through Cruise Critic doing exactly the same tours offered by the cruiseline.....I'm not saying it's right or wrong and he was definitely off base in making those kind of remarks at a gathering like that but it must be frustrating for staff to see a group that large get on a bus right next to one from the cruiseline doing exactly the same thing........guess they better bring those prices down some if they want to see this trend stop.

 

Oh I'm STILL not doing tours of huge busloads whether ship sponsored or not....too many people.......

[Orator]

Threads have a life of their own. The issue to me is not Shore Excursions, but rather the behavior of a Cruise Director that seems to be different from policy. I can only hope that he was called in for a discussion of what to say and what not to say during a CC gathering. Not smart to offend your guests.

[joandian]

We've had something similar on a RCI cruise from the activities manager but it wasn't a general announcement. He just told us we couldn't make any announcements about private tours at the M&M. We know a fellow cruiser who was dragged into a interrogation, sorry meeting with the hotel manager when it became known he had organized a private tour for a bus full of CC members. They threatened to put him off the ship amongst other things.

[Lois R]

We have always booked small (less than 10 person) private excursions when booking outside the cruiseline itself. We do this for several reasons, cost being only one. The most important one being that with a smaller group you can dictate what you want to see and not see, do and not do(shopping..ugh...) On the cruise I am currently booked on I note that there are a few people organizing excursions for up to 50 people, I've never seen that before. Perhaps those are the type of groups the CD was speaking of since that is the type of excursion so often sold by the cruiseline itself.....

 

Don't think he should have presented it the way he did but I guess the point he was making is that it must look like there are private tour operators gathering large groups of people through Cruise Critic doing exactly the same tours offered by the cruiseline.....I'm not saying it's right or wrong and he was definitely off base in making those kind of remarks at a gathering like that but it must be frustrating for staff to see a group that large get on a bus right next to one from the cruiseline doing exactly the same thing........guess they better bring those prices down some if they want to see this trend stop.

 

Oh I'm STILL not doing tours of huge busloads whether ship sponsored or not....too many people.......

 

Hi Gracie:).....there are places to discuss the topic...meetings with

Mgmt might be a good place to start but to bash Cruise Critic at

the gathering where folks want to meet each other from Cruise

Critic?.....he was way off base (in my opinion anyway).

[GaryT-UK]

He said that "Cruise Critic is contributing to the demise of the cruise industry because cruisers get together on Roll Calls and arrange private excursions." These excursions "hurt the companies that run cruises, as it takes away badly needed revenue."!

 

If as a cruise line they have genuinely identified that private tours are costing them money, then as a sensible business they will react by making their own tours more competitive, or alternatively they'll charge a higher price for their premium product (personally I'm willing to pay for the guarantee the ship won't leave without me). The internet has changed travel forever and to suggest that people should stop using it to get a better deal is just ignoring a problem that won't go away. That attitude may lead to the demise of a cruise line, but not the industry, because there will always be someone else out there who will adapt. However you only need to look at all the changes that are commented on on these boards to realise the cruise industry is constantly adapting - so I don't think I'm too worried the industry will collapse any time soon.

[rwr235]

Hi Gracie:).....there are places to discuss the topic...meetings with

Mgmt might be a good place to start but to bash Cruise Critic at

the gathering where folks want to meet each other from Cruise

Critic?.....he was way off base (in my opinion anyway).

 

Hi Lois, :)

 

He was especially way out of line...considering that Celebrity and CC apparently have a great working relationship...to the point of Celebrity having a FAQ Section specifically discussing the CC Party, and a direct link to sign up for it on their website !

 

I am sure the official Celebrity Poster will note this discussion (and I remember someone else mentioned this on a thread recently...perhaps the same cruise ?...so perhaps it already has been noted to Celebrity Mgt)...and that proper and intelligent comments will be the norm in future CC parties hosted by said CD !!

 

Woody

Edited July 15, 2014 by rwr235

[dkjretired]

His point could have been made without insulting the people at the party, not a real bright thing to do.

[Gracie115]

Hi Gracie:).....there are places to discuss the topic...meetings with

Mgmt might be a good place to start but to bash Cruise Critic at

the gathering where folks want to meet each other from Cruise

Critic?.....he was way off base (in my opinion anyway).

 

I agree with you Lois...I didn't make that point well in my post....I can't imagine how that was received by the people there from CC....all I was trying to say is there had to be a reason for his rant.....not that it was justified...it certainly wasn't and I suspect that gathering went downhill from that point on....what a lousy way to begin a cruise..... as the old saying goes: "there is a time and place for everything" well this sure wasn't it....

[C 2 C]

Does anyone know if Celebrity excursions are run by Celebrity or outsourced similar to the Spa and shops on board?

 

I can imagine however the conflict set up when a number of people show up at a Celebrity sponsored event to discuss privately organized tours.

 

Perhaps JC was picked as a lightning rod to present the conflict of interest involved. When members start setting up tours involving multi busses, not just a small tour, there is a serious impact on Celebrity's tour numbers.

 

I've always appreciated the people who have set up private tours but I can understand the concern expressed by JC. Remember he is the messenger. Pay attention to the message. I can visualize someone scanning the roll calls for potential competitors who may find that they are denied boarding.

[chrismakris]

Bad bad cruise director.

 

What the CD doesn't realize is that there are people(like me), who do not want to stuffed on a bus with 20-40 other people for an excursion at every single port. Sometimes I need a small group excursion that the cruise ship does not offer.

 

On our next cruise we have booked a private tour on a sailboat because only a maximum of 6 people will sail on this boat instead of 20 or so on similar excursions through Celebrity.

[hulamoon]

No I have not encountered any statements like that, however have been told not to make announcements at meetings.

 

Guests want good excursions. They also want simple service. There have been times we wished to book a celebrity excursion because of the length of the excursion and the time the ship left port. In each of these incidents, by phone or website the excursion was not available until just before our sail date and we went with a private one instead. In addition to this I was told there was no guarantee the particular excursion would be offered.

 

This is just poor business. Someone must by now know what excursions should be contracted for earlier. How often have we all complained of the terrible web service? Why not book up the most popular tours contractually, so taking it through the ship makes more sense? Also offer a deal occasionally or quit being so completely greedy about the price! Contract for better service, I began to think celebrity was intentionally hiring the second rate tour companies. Insist on smaller tour buses, almost everyone likes this idea. Check out the quality vs. other options. These are rather basic steps celebrity does not appear to take.

 

Why are the options only a private car and driver for big money or a second rate tour? If Celebrity wants my more of my excursion money, earn it.

 

Of all the areas of Celebrity offerings compared to other lines we think their excursions are weak.

[d4m]

you only need to look at all the changes that are commented on on these boards to realise the cruise industry is constantly adapting - so I don't think I'm too worried the industry will collapse any time soon.

 

Taking a look at their profit, I don't think they are poverty stricken yet.

 

I hate ship sponsored tours, as there's always a bus-full and the time on excursions is much more limited and costs are significantly more.

 

Am appalled that the CD had the brass to say that in an open forum of CC passengers and hope he had a one on one meeting with someone after that blurb. If not, then shame on Celebrity.

 

On our last cruise, when someone asked the Captain what ship he would be on next, his response was "check with Cruise Critic!"

[Orator]

His point could have been made without insulting the people at the party, not a real bright thing to do.

 

His only point should have been to welcome the group and make them feel warm and fuzzy about the ship and the time they will spend together. It is not his job to criticize or belittle. We all have a bad day, hope this is just a symptom of a rare bad day and it won't be repeated.

[c-legs]

Setting aside the debate on ''Celebrity shorex'' VS ''privately organised shorex''...the topic here is the CD , JC...seems to me he did that earlier on another voyage and a thread was triggered on this site.....Bad form, questionnable choice and judgement, poor decision== hopefully, the Master ( who chose to remain ''neutral'', and wisely so ) dealt with him afterwards...and privately..

As Arno points out, however: there are folks who use a ''Celebrity''-sponsored event ( CC meet'n'Greet) to flaunt their own ''product''/shorex: this is also bad form, questionnable etiquette and discourteous.

 

Back to JC.,....that sounds uncomfortably similar.

Cheers

[Christine Frances]

I remember a post on the Princess board about a Meet & Mingle attended by CD/Officers who were very upset that at that same meeting a woman had set up a large table to collect for her many tours that she had organized. The CD and Officers were not impressed at all. I made it a point on our Asia cruise to have pay'ts for tours that I organized to be done at a set time at our cabin. I don't know if that was happening during the OP's CC meeting or not.

[Gracie115]

I remember a post on the Princess board about a Meet & Mingle attended by CD/Officers who were very upset that at that same meeting a woman had set up a large table to collect for her many tours that she had organized. The CD and Officers were not impressed at all. I made it a point on our Asia cruise to have pay'ts for tours that I organized to be done at a set time at our cabin. I don't know if that was happening during the OP's CC meeting or not.

 

And THAT is just as totally unacceptable....have to pretty brash(there are other words I can't use here) to set up a table on a cruiseship sponsored event......don't think I'd want any part of those tours.....ugh....