Never again on Celebrity

[richstowe]

I met the love of my life in London Ontario so I'm not going to say anything unknd.

I will quote ghstudio , "I suspect your tooth colored your impression of the rest of the ship."

 

Good luck on your future trips.

[cruzeluver]

OP, have a couple of questions should you decide to return:

 

In what way did they attempt to "force" you into going to going to the specialty dining restaurants? I have not had that experience so I am truly curious. While we have seen tables set up to assist people in booking specialty dining and have been offered discounts while on board, I certainly have not felt like they were trying to force me into it.

 

In my experience X has done a better job than other lines we have been on ad far as dealing with the chair hogs. Did you inquire with a pool butler to get assistance?

 

I am unclear about your assertion that the top deck is only for the rich and famous. I am certainly neither but have been able to enjoy the lawn club including the lawn itself, the hammocks and played bocce with friends. While I have no desire to purchase time at the Alcoves others must, or surely they would discontinue them. So what brought you to your conclusion regarding the top deck area?

 

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe HAL currently has a much more liberal smoking policy than X does, so if smoke bothers you I would think that overall you would prefer X in this regard.

 

And lastly, what is the "money grab" you are referring to?

Edited January 11, 2015 by cruzeluver
spelling

[upwarduk]

Three or four years ago I cracked a tooth on a piece of fried bread on P&O, left a huge slabsided hole,----Never considered claiming against P&O, nor blaming them for the fried bread being so hard, maybe I should have.:rolleyes:

 

John,

We don't live in the compensation culture-yet!

 

To OP

I am always cautious when eating fish, even if it is supposed to be filleted.

Weren't you aware that there might possibly be a stone in the cherry?

Edited January 11, 2015 by upwarduk

[vivi9909]

I am sorry that your tooth incident seemed to have ruined your cruise. It is a very annoying and probably painful problem and you were not in the mood to enjoy your time as long as it hasn't been repaired after the cruise.

 

However, I think that all the cruise companies would have reacted the same way. I guess that McDonald's would probably have reacted the same if the cherry pit would have been in a cherry turnover. As mentioned by other posters, a cherry pit can't be considered as a foreign object in cherries; it happens from time to time and it's very unfortunate that it broke your tooth but not the cruise line fault.

 

I suggest you give an other chance to cruising with Celebrity, when you will be in a better mood to enjoy it.

 

By the way, can you guaranty us that HAL is chair hogs and cigar smoke free and that all guests are serving themselves moderately at the buffet?

Edited January 11, 2015 by vivi9909

[Jetswdo]

how is it Celebrity's fault? Many years ago we were at a Chuck E Cheese when our kids were small (they are now in their 30's) My dh bit down on the pizza crust and his tooth that held a bridge cracked and bridge came out. Dentist said, "it was just a matter of time--too bad it happenned in a public place"(David, my dh was so embarrased at the time--) Since then, in the 20 plus years later- he is extremely careful when he eats-- I am too---foods that can have pits, and bones in it--slowly bite and chew- as to avoid the very occasional accidental pit or small piece of bone that could remain in the food.

re the Reflection. I was on the ship June 2013- We found the food excellent and it in most of the venues- only "complaint" was Blu lobster- tasted like rubber- but so what? I could have then ordered something else if I chose to- (The Murano lobster was perfect, by the way) Yeah, I personally thought the alcoves were kind of dumb- but also, so what? The people that wanted to pay for them did, and people like me just didn't and enjoyed the rest of the ship. I have to say that the Reflection on that sailing was nearly perfect (it would have been perfect if Celebrity had self service washers and dryers- my only peeve, but I digress.) We will be on the Summit to Bermuda this coming June- cruise only a week, so I can manage without the laundry- Also Celebrity, Royal and Princess IMHO are the best for people who can't stand cigarette smoke. Until HAL and the other mainstream cruiselines change their smoking policy I won't be sailing with them. I agree with the other posters that you should probobly stick with HAL. Good luck with your teeth.

[deliver42]

The OP complained about smoke on the Lawn, but HAL even allows smoke on balconies. Just sounds like an excuse not to sail X again.

[waterbug123]

I will never sail on Celebrity again as the overall experience sucked compared to HAL. The Reflection is a nice ship but the food is sub par and seems that they try to dollar you to death and force you to go to all the specialty resturants. The chair hogs and people stuffing their face sin the buffet lines are a big disappointment and the fact that nobody enforces the chair hog rules. The lawn area at the top is basically for the rich and famous as who the hell wants to pay $ 150.00 for a frigging cabana a day. I really liked the idea of the lawn but really hated the stench of cigar smoke and it seemed always roped off. The Reflection's poor quality of food, overall money grab and the missing little things the HAL provides turned me completely off and come hell or high water I will never sail with Royal or Celebrity again.

 

Oh my. How exactly did they try to "force you to go to all the specialty restaurants?" Did they physically stop you from entering the main dining room? :confused: Or do you just mean that other restaurants were available for a charge but you didn't want to pay so now you're in a snit that you didn't get to go to them?

 

As for the buffet, are you seriously implying that people on Holland DON'T stuff their faces, LOL?? Every ship on every line that I've been on there have been people with plates piled high at the buffet. I hardly think it's unique to Royal.:rolleyes:

 

And the lawn club... the way you describe "a frigging cabana" it doesn't sound like you wanted to sit in one anyway, so what does it matter what the daily charge is? If getting one isn't a big deal to you, why do you care who rents them? And while some access areas to the grass are roped off almost daily, it is to let the grass regrown in those areas. Just walk around and you'll find another way to access the lawn. By the way, I never noticed the stench of cigar smoke in the middle of the lawn area (where you presumably were since you didn't rent an alcove.) The Sunset Bar, where smoking is allowed is far enough down and around the end of the ship from the lawn and if the ship is moving the smoke generally blows aft, away from the lawn. Don't really know how you could be in the middle of the lawn smell the stench of cigar smoke.

[miched]

Your statement couldn't be more true. I broke a restored tooth on mashed potatoes. It was an old amalgam filling from childhood. I paid $850 just for the root canal. The post and crown was another $800. Thankfully my dental insurance covered most of it.

 

I was eating a piece of bread and my tooth cracked. When I questioned the dentist about that he mentioned that the tooth was already cracked and the bread dough caused a suction that pulled it apart. He said that anything soft like bread dough, mashed potatoes, gum, caramel, and etc will do that. He also said that it's very rare for a tooth to break from just one single incident, normally it is already in the process of breaking off and when it does it is from a long process that was just speeded up a little.

 

I have bitten done many times on a stray bone, pit and etc without breaking any teeth. It doesn't feel good but any healthy tooth should withstand it and when I am chewing on something it isn't as if I am trying to bite through a piece of steel

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[blueboro]

Odd that you were surprised at the specialty restaurants and people actually eating a lot at the buffet. We have sailed on HAL several times and know that they ALSO have pay restaurants (Pinnacle, Tamarind, Canneleto) and, just like Celebrity, nobody holds a gun to your head and reqiures you to eat there. HAL also has cabana's they rent on their Signature class ships so I assume you cannot cruise HAL anymore either since they cater to the rich. As everyone knows food is subjective but assume your tooth accident caused you to dislike everything else about the cruise.

 

Hopefully HAL will welcome you back but, to be consistent, make sure you complain to them about the pay to eat restaurants, pay to use cabana's, people stuffing their faces in the cafeteria line they call a buffet, and if you get a seed in your orange.

[wwcruisers]

The OP complained about smoke on the Lawn, but HAL even allows smoke on balconies. Just sounds like an excuse not to sail X again.

 

Yeah, I kind of got that, too. Celebrity has (and enforces) the most restrictive smoking policies of any major cruiseline. Yet, the OP found the ONE place that permits cigar smoking,to complain about. I agree with others that a cracked tooth (no matter how it happened) could ruin your whole cruise -- sounds like that's what happened to the OP.

[judie43]

No one on HAL have any teeth anyway...

 

That was my first laugh of the day!😺

[tteettimes]

That was my first laugh of the day!😺

Now that there is funny !!:)

[Cruise Raider]

Yep, blame Celebrity for the sea conditions. It's all their fault. Apparently, HAL has more control of the weather. I learned something today. :rolleyes:

 

You and me both!! After reading the second post that someone added, me thinks someone just likes to blame, blame, blame. I work with people like that ...nothing is ever THEIR fault. Maybe they just like playing the victim...that's the way they live their life.

 

BTW -- I went to Hawaii and the first day on the islands, I tore my ACL while hiking in the lava tubes. It was raining hard ... I mean a downpour. Poor girl that was hosting the tour was her first time out ... I could see she was worried it was going to be her last. I assured her it was definitely MY OWN DARNED fault and that I should have more careful in the pouring rain. I would have never thought to blame the tour operator. Things happen ... and I cleaned that up a bit.

[Cruise Junky]

No one on HAL have any teeth anyway...

 

OMG. Lol

[davekathy]

You and me both!! After reading the second post that someone added, me thinks someone just likes to blame, blame, blame. I work with people like that ...nothing is ever THEIR fault. Maybe they just like playing the victim...that's the way they live their life.

 

BTW -- I went to Hawaii and the first day on the islands, I tore my ACL while hiking in the lava tubes. It was raining hard ... I mean a downpour. Poor girl that was hosting the tour was her first time out ... I could see she was worried it was going to be her last. I assured her it was definitely MY OWN DARNED fault and that I should have more careful in the pouring rain. I would have never thought to blame the tour operator. Things happen ... and I cleaned that up a bit.

 

...and I make three.

[AllisonJames]

Wow, I am about to post a review on my experience last week on the Silhouette and kind of nervous, I always try to be fair and balanced so I do talk about some positives but we did have several negative experiences and quite a bit of criticism so please don't "roast" me fellow cruisers . . .:eek: Bottom line was we had high expectations for Celebrity and they were not met, we have sailed both mass market (RCL, Norwegian, Princess) and luxury (Seabourn and Silversea) and did not think Celebrity as a "premium" line really is worth it. In the future, we will probably either go with Princess or pay significantly more for Seabourn or Silversea (which we thought offered luxury AND value for the price). Stay tuned for our review and please be kind!

[cle-guy]

Wow, I am about to post a review on my experience last week on the Silhouette and kind of nervous, I always try to be fair and balanced so I do talk about some positives but we did have several negative experiences and quite a bit of criticism so please don't "roast" me fellow cruisers . . .:eek: Bottom line was we had high expectations for Celebrity and they were not met, we have sailed both mass market (RCL, Norwegian, Princess) and luxury (Seabourn and Silversea) and did not think Celebrity as a "premium" line really is worth it. In the future, we will probably either go with Princess or pay significantly more for Seabourn or Silversea (which we thought offered luxury AND value for the price). Stay tuned for our review and please be kind!

 

The issue with this poster is

1. Lack of personal responsibility - you bite a cherry seed when eating something with cherries, it's your fault, don't blame someone else
   
2. They hate the smoking on X and claim HAL is better, HAL doesn't have a restricted smoking policy like X does. Though I have no first hand knowledge, I think even HAL allows cigar smoking. X allows it only in 1 small spot on the upper deck, not in all the designated smoking areas, and no smoking at all on veranda's like HAL allows.
   
3. They say the lawn is only for "rich and famous" The Alcoves themselves are for rent, but the lawn area itself open to anyone almost any day, unless they are roping it of for it to grow and refurbish, which when they do, they rope only certain parts off on a rotational basis, never the entire lawn for an entire cruise. there is always lawn space somewhere in that half acre of grass available to use. And booking an alcove would provide relief from Chair hogs....If the alcoves were gone, the space would have just been more of the open lawn area anyway. Lawn games can be played by anyone in this space, only the wooden deck space of the alcoves is rented out.
   
4. chair hogs, all you do is flag a pool butler and they will take care of the hogged chairs. This also falls under the "personal responsibility" issue. And likely on the upper decks and forward decks there were plenty of open loungers.
   
5. They claim X charges for specialty dining, well guess what all lines do, even their Beloved HAL
   
6. Somehow blaming X that they were seasick the entire cruise...Really, that's a cruise line's fault? Personal responsibility.
   

 

So their review is clearly all about cutting their tooth and being pissed they can't extort cash out of celebrity for it, and all else became clouded beyond that. Which I think we all understand is a bad experience, but in real life, things like this happen and it's no one's fault really, finding a cherry pit in a cherry desert. Finding a cherry pit in a cesar's salad then it's a cruise line issue.

[richsea]

OP, have a couple of questions should you decide to return:

 

In what way did they attempt to "force" you into going to going to the specialty dining restaurants? I have not had that experience so I am truly curious. While we have seen tables set up to assist people in booking specialty dining and have been offered discounts while on board, I certainly have not felt like they were trying to force me into it.

 

In my experience X has done a better job than other lines we have been on ad far as dealing with the chair hogs. Did you inquire with a pool butler to get assistance?

 

I am unclear about your assertion that the top deck is only for the rich and famous. I am certainly neither but have been able to enjoy the lawn club including the lawn itself, the hammocks and played bocce with friends. While I have no desire to purchase time at the Alcoves others must, or surely they would discontinue them. So what brought you to your conclusion regarding the top deck area?

 

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe HAL currently has a much more liberal smoking policy than X does, so if smoke bothers you I would think that overall you would prefer X in this regard.

 

And lastly, what is the "money grab" you are referring to?

 

Since I doubt that the OP will ever return, I'll take the liberty of addressing your questions. It's simple: answer to all you points is He broke his tooth & Celebrity would not pay for it. That's why he waited until he got a response from Celebrity before he posted, & embellished his complaints to get back at them for not compensating him.

[richstowe]

AllisonJames,

Don't label your review ,"Never again on Celebrity" and you should be fine.:D

My Constellation cruise was a disappointment partially because of an incredible Summit experience.

My expectations were too high but there were some serious issues which I have previously posted.

Frankly I have found that except for the RC forum , CC members are fine with reasonable criticism of their "favorites".

[The Mexillents]

My 2 cents. I love Celebrity and totally can not stand Princess and will try not to sail on them again. But you make what you want out of the trip. If go in all grumpy that is the kind of cruise you are going to experience. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches after all when your on a cruise, YOU ARE ON A CRUISE. Have fun. And don't sweat the small stuff.

 

 

Remember to always enjoy your cruise, and don't sweat the small stuff.

[wwcruisers]

Wow, I am about to post a review on my experience last week on the Silhouette and kind of nervous, I always try to be fair and balanced so I do talk about some positives but we did have several negative experiences and quite a bit of criticism so please don't "roast" me fellow cruisers . . .:eek: Bottom line was we had high expectations for Celebrity and they were not met, we have sailed both mass market (RCL, Norwegian, Princess) and luxury (Seabourn and Silversea) and did not think Celebrity as a "premium" line really is worth it. In the future, we will probably either go with Princess or pay significantly more for Seabourn or Silversea (which we thought offered luxury AND value for the price). Stay tuned for our review and please be kind!

 

I think if you report the positives, as well as the negatives -- and keep the hyperbole to a minimum -- I think you'll be fine. Most of us really appreciate fair, well balanced reviews. Personally, I can appreciate that no one cruise line (including X) is for everyone. :cool:

[Blondie008]

No one on HAL have any teeth anyway...

 

Bwahahahahahahahahahaa:D

[suite dreams]

Pits happen!

[OuiOnboard]

Take that Celebrity!!!

For our part, we are thankful that there are choices, and more thankful that we can cruise at all.

[boscobeans]

missing little things the HAL provides turned me completely off and come hell or high water I will never sail with Royal or Celebrity again.

 

I've been on a few HAL cruises and never knew one of their little things was pre chewing our food for us ?? Could have missed that service on my cruises.

 

 

bosco