Complaints?

[Begete]

Can someone please tell me the name and address of the appropriate person at Celebrity to whom to address complaints about a recent cruise?

 

Thank you.

[rjg41]

Here you go.

 

Dan Hanrahan, President

Celebrity Cruise Lines

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

[Stephen]

Give Joan a call, I had problems on a Constellation Cruise in April. By August no-one from Celebrity had replied. I got Joans number called her within two days everything was sorted out.

Even the President Dan Hanrahan, could not be bothered to reply.

 

Give her a call and say hello from me.

Good luck

Stephen

 

 

Joan Bernheimer

Celebrity Cruises Sr. Executive Representative

Corporate Guest Relations

Tel: 305-539-6000 Ext. 37863

jbernheimer@rccl.com

[chessbriar]

Your Travel Agent, that's why you use them.

 

If you didn't that's why you should.

 

Their voice as one who sell thousands of cruises has more weight than your one.

 

You don't pay extra for a TA, but they are worth it when even something goes wrong.

[Begete]

Thank you for the advice. I did send a letter yesterday as per RJG's post, to the president, though I doubt anything will come of it.

 

This isn't the usual type of complaint. Before we booked, I had called special services to see if the Constellation could accomodate me, as I have a rare illness and needed some special things - like being able to have our stateroom temperature below 65 degrees. Had they said "no" to any of my requests, we simply would not have booked the cruise, but they said all 3 requirements would be accomodated and then ignored 2 out of 3.

 

I was quite ill the entire cruise because of their failure to honor their committment.

 

and yes, we did ask Guest Services to remedy the problems but they were unable or unwilling to do so.

[warmwinds]

Weren't you the one who needed to avoid people with heavy perfume? Was that a problem on your cruise?

[ahoymatey3]

I was wondering about that also.

[Char]

To learn more about the 3 problems the OP had see post #20 on this thread. Cruise Critic Message Boards - final payment - ? price drop

[chessbriar]

Then by reading that post the OP said they would never take another X cruise. Then why bother writing. If you will never take another, why write. They are unlikely to do anything other than offer a discount off a future cruise if anything.

 

Sorry things didn't go well. That's one reason I never book a straight up GTY.

[warmwinds]

You can have a broken thermostat and a bad mattress in a cabin you hand pick, too. I've read in other posts where people have asked for foam tops or even boards for their mattresses and gotten them. The thermostat is a toughie...unless the prior people tried to get their temp below 70 who would know? And if there were no other cabins available where could they move you? I'm really interested in how the perfume thing worked out because although I wouldn't say I'm allergic (I do tear up and sneeze but it's not a life-threatening allergy, say like peanuts or something) I was wondering if you were able to stay away from offenders.

 

Have you cruised on other lines that were able to comply with your requests? What were your other things you asked about ahead of time besides the temperature? You couldn't have known about the dirty cabin or the bad bed until you got there.

[PeteMan]

Then by reading that post the OP said they would never take another X cruise. Then why bother writing. If you will never take another, why write. They are unlikely to do anything other than offer a discount off a future cruise if anything.

Well if everyone took that attitude things would never improve would they?

[lysolqn]

I've also had great results dealing with Joan Bernheimer. She's a corporate rarity - she actually returns phone calls, does what she promises to do and sees a problem through to a fair conclusion.

[Begete]

Boy oh Boy. You folks sure have good memories ;). Yes. I am the person who posted about allergies to perfumes. My illness isn't really an allergy, but a disease called Mastocytosis (easy to check out online if you have any interest) which "looks" like an allergy, so I just say "allergy" because it is easier for people to understand. Certain chemicals, heat, etc., cause my blood pressure to fluctuate wildly (in addition to other symptoms like allergy symptoms) and I can go into shock and die (I keep epi pens practically glued to my body).

 

We decided to "try" a cruise because we love to travel, but it has been getting harder to make arrangements when I have to make so many special requests of airlines (oxygen), hotels, etc. I do not think cruising will work for us in the future, but we are glad we tried and found out. Most hotels, etc., are really good about being honest. If they tell me they cannot accomodate me, I look elsewhere.

 

I asked for 4 things:

 

1 - an air purification machine for our room. This they DID provide (as do most hotels).

 

2 - a dinner table for 2 either near an exit or isolated. They sat us in the middle of the room at a large table, but a couple we "met" here online at Cruisecritic who were Captain's Club members, invited us to sit at their table for 2 which was set for 6, so we did, and enjoyed their company very much for the entire cruise. However, the dining room was still very uncomfortable for me. We were blessed with very good weather and ate all of our other meals outside. On one occasion I was too ill to eat dinner in the dining room and had room service. We were going to try the "casual" dining area to see if I did any better there, but it was just as "smelly" as the main dining room, which our tablemates preferred.

 

3. A room where the temperature could be maintained below 65 degrees. This was really important, and this was their main failure. They did "try" to fix it but could not.

 

4 - that our room be cleaned only with vinegar and baking soda and no chemical products. To Celebrity's credit, they did comply with this request (and got the room clean - eventually - using these items) and I apologize for not mentioning that before.

 

So Celebrity complied with 2 of my requests, and third request members of cruisecritic solved :) However, we would not have booked the cruise had we not been assured that all 4 requests would be met.

 

I must say Cruisecritic turned out to be a real blessing. Folks were so kind. We did two tours with people we met at the Connections site (2 days in St Pete's and one day in Berlin with a private driver) and those people were kind enough to forgo anything scented when I was present. The people making the arrangements even warned the tour companies, so the guides and drivers were also scent free. I am very grateful to Cruisecritic for making it possible for us to meet such considerate and kind people in advance of our trip.

 

I am surprised at all this interest. I just wanted the name of the appropriate person to contact about what happened.

 

Char - I didn't mention the lumpy beds, dirty room, etc. in my letter to Mr. Hanrahan. What I feel is important is that Celebrity take medical concerns seriously and not mislead prospective guests to induce them to buy a cruise. I am quite sure other guests will mention the other problems as I know we were not alone. Indeed a whole section of the 9th deck was greeted with "brown water" one day when the sewage system had some issues...and that was Concierge Class.

 

I wanted Mr H to concentrate on only the one issue: if Celebrity cannot accomodate the medical needs of a prospective passenger, they need to say so.

 

This was the second cruise we have taken since I became ill. The other cruise was in China 3 years ago and I was fine the entire trip.

The Chinese placed us at an isolated table near an exit and I made it to every meal. They also provided an air purification machine and cleaned the room with only organic products. Our trip was in early spring so temperature was not an issue. We just turned the heat off. There was a large contingent of MBA students from Brigham Young on the boat, so I had plenty of unscented company with whom I could enjoy not drinking ;) Hard to believe the Chinese were so much more accomodating than Celebrity.

 

Sorry to take up so much space, but you folks asked ;) Is there anything else you more experienced cruisers think we should do?

[Char]

Char - I didn't mention the lumpy beds, dirty room, etc. in my letter to Mr. Hanrahan. What I feel is important is that Celebrity take medical concerns seriously and not mislead prospective guests to induce them to buy a cruise. I am quite sure other guests will mention the other problems as I know we were not alone. Indeed a whole section of the 9th deck was greeted with "brown water" one day when the sewage system had some issues...and that was Concierge Class.

 

I wanted Mr H to concentrate on only the one issue: if Celebrity cannot accomodate the medical needs of a prospective passenger, they need to say so.

I agree that Celebrity should follow up on the medical requests. My husband has some medical issues that have always been accomodated.

 

Did you have a doctor's note outlining your special needs? This is a must in dealing with medical needs on board. Did your TA forward the note to Celebrity for your record?

 

If you had booked a specific cabin your requests would be part of the original booking information. If you should decide to try cruising again be sure to do this.

 

As for the dinner table placement, you could have spoken to the Maitre'd and he would have resolved the problem for you. If you cruise again be sure to check your table location as soon as you board and have it changed if it is not according to your medical need request. It was very nice that the CC couple came to your rescue.

 

What kind of advice did your TA give you regarding your special needs? They are your first line of defense when dealing with the cruise lines. Good ones will follow up and make sure everything is in place for you.

 

I hope you get the response you are anticipating from Celebrity and I hope no one else has the kind of problems that you had on your last cruise.

[anca]

I'm on Century as I write this, we are over run with cockroaches in our suite with balcony, every day I complain, every night the roaches rejoin our cruise:mad:

 

Everyone is so very nice about it, but this cruise cost big bucks and I don't deal with roaches at home, why do I have to pay to share my cabin with them now?:eek:

 

Last night they sprayed the deck and restaurant above our balcony and then the critters really PREFERRED OUR CABIN!

 

Everything else is lovely!

[Begete]

Char -

 

Yes. I had detailed letters with me from two doctors. The travel agent was useless. I had posted online at some travel sites asking if there was a travel agent somewhere that could assist a prospective client with some unusual medical requirements. This one called me. She was useless except to tell me to call "special services".

 

The young man from special services seemed to be very responsive though it was like pulling teeth to get him to put anything in writing. I asked him if I could fax my doctors' letters to him, but he said that was not necessary.

 

We certainly learned our lesson on many different issues :(

[Char]

Char -

 

Yes. I had detailed letters with me from two doctors. The travel agent was useless. I had posted online at some travel sites asking if there was a travel agent somewhere that could assist a prospective client with some unusual medical requirements. This one called me. She was useless except to tell me to call "special services".

 

The young man from special services seemed to be very responsive though it was like pulling teeth to get him to put anything in writing. I asked him if I could fax my doctors' letters to him, but he said that was not necessary.

 

We certainly learned our lesson on many different issues :(

 

I wonder how long he had worked for Celebrity? That is incorrect information!

 

In all the Celebrity brochures it states that any medical needs should be sent IN WRITING at time of booking or at least 21 to 30 days prior to sailing (depending on whether it's a US port or not)

 

Here is what the Celebrity web site says:

What if I have special needs?

Subject: Special Needs, Medical/Physical

 

Celebrity welcomes guests with special needs and works hard to assist you throughout your vacation.

 

To receive appropriate assistance, be sure to notify our Special Services Department in writing (fax: 1-800-882-8292; email: specialneeds@celebrity.com).

 

Please be sure to notify us, at the time you make your booking, or 21 days prior to sailing for all U.S. sailings and 30 days prior to sailing for non-U.S. sailings.

 

Please be sure to let us know of any special medical or physical needs you have, as well as any other relevant information, including wheelchair characteristics, that will help us provide you with the best vacation experience possible.