Celebrity computer problems again?

[Gracie115]

Well Gracie , you may be amazed , but as someone leaves Celebrity , they are replaced by a newbie. IMO practically no one will leave Celebrity because they have a terrible functioning website or phone service. It will give them something to complain about here on CC. Be realistic!

 

I never said anyone OR I would leave Celebrity because of it...... but as the world becomes MORE and MORE dependent on technology Celebrity will also need to get "up to date" or be left behind.... it IS important, not trivial and I am being realistic not just nonchalant that it doesn't matter, which is the way you seem to feel...if not then fine, but that's just what it sounds like....

[wpgcycler]

I've probably said this before but in my 35 years in the IT industry, I've seen few companies with customer facing technology as poorly managed as Celebrity's. It would make a fascinating case study for say, Harvard Business school as, in some industries, such incompetence would cause the business to fail. I suspect it says a lot about the extraordinary quality of the product they provide (locally reported disappointments notwithstanding) that they continue to get away with this - although I also suspect there is a tipping point, beyond which their failure to address these issues will have a negative impact on their business results.

 

It's not just their inability to manage basic internet based customer interfaces which is startling but also their failure to embrace hand held technology as a means of communicating with customers and creating/enhancing revenue opportunities aboard ship. I can't tell you the number of times I found myself reaching for my iPhone last week on Eclipse to check the "Celebrity app" to find out show times, venue opening times, venue locations, menus etc. etc. etc. Their is NO such Celebrity app! The point is, I am so used to such a service being provided by the hosts of so many events I attend (e.g conferences, sporting events etc.), my mind is conditioned to assume their is such an app available. Not only are such apps HUGELY convenient for the customer, they also provide a means for the company to stay in constant constant with the customer - i.e. creating and enhancing their opportunities for revenue generation.

 

The concept of "e-business" is at least 20 years old now. We no longer use the term because all of the characteristics of the concept have been so thoroughly and almost universally incorporated into everyday business that it's simply just how plain old business is conducted today. Celebrity (and other lines? I don't know as I'm not (yet) familiar with them) need to get with the times.

Edited January 11, 2016 by wpgcycler
grammar

[pete_coach]

Considering the thousands of bookings on Celebrity ships, the few complaints about the website or phone call issues that we see on CC are fairly small in my opinion. People use different computers, browsers, mobile devices, etc. this complicates things. When the online and phone issues cause X to lose money, then they will make it right. The ships almost always fill up. If someone has loyalty status on a cruise line, it will take a lot for them to switch and start accumulating points on a new Line.

Considering the thousands of bookings on Celebrity, the few people complaining on Cruise Critic is fairly small in my opinion. Perhaps only a few people use Cruise Critic to complain. The percentage can be the same as your analogy and perspective equal.

You seem to have become one of the apologists for Celebrity that others are also complaining about. Celebrity can do no wrong and only a few people have issues. Cruise Critic is a microcosm of Celebrity clientele. Only a very few use it and those that do, express their pleasure or displeasure of their experience.

Your experience may be different and, as I said to you in another post where you defend Celebrity on this issue, good to hear you have had no problems and I hope you never do....and if you ever do, perhaps then you will feel differently and stop apologizing for a very very poor website.

[BrendaJ]

Some say that Celebrity is trying to attract a younger client base; if that is the case, an appealing, functional website is extremely important.

 

Although I haven't had many of the issues others have reported, certain things drive me bonkers:

 

1. I've been trying to download a shore excursion pdf to print for my parents for a cruise departing next month - I get a loading screen and then nothing. I have tried from work, at home and on my iPad, using various browsers and am having no luck. I know my parents would probably book some excursions, but without being able to e-mail them the pdf, and the clunky format of the excursions web pages, it looks like we'll have to wait until we're onboard, risking that what they want will be sold out.
   
2. When doing a search, you actually have to click on a button that says "Book with this offer" and then several more clicks to find out how much the cruise will be including tax. Some less technical people might think you can't get the price without "booking".
   
3. The overall design of the cruise search pages is horrible - the interface with its huge fonts and large maps of the itineraries requires pages of scrolling to reveal very little information. I thought Royal Caribbean's page was a lot better but on looking at it today, I realize it's more similar than different, although the filtering seems a little less clunky. On a quick look at other cruise line websites, they are more similar than different. Crystal's Voyage Finder is nice, at least for doing a quick search. Holland America's search results give a lot more information than Celebrity's which is good. I haven't really seen any cruise line site I'd consider great, although I generally just look at Celebrity's or Azamara's.
    
   I guess the problem is that all of the lines are designing their websites to be usable on a mobile device, which limits the interface considerably. I wish that they'd offer a separate mobile site or an app for mobile use, or even have a button you could click to just streamline the data for quick searches. Instead, I go to an on-line agency's no-frills website to quickly look for prices and itineraries, and only use Celebrity's when I've narrowed down my search to a particular itinerary.
    
   It seems to me that the overall website design is more for esthetics than function, showing lots of pretty pictures and tons of white space, but making cold hard information difficult to find quickly. Perhaps the marketing people think customers need to be attracted with photos and other graphics; they probably don't realize that many people go to a website looking for quick prices and don't need the photos to decide what they want.
   

 

I think ideally, the main page of the website should show some pretty pictures with some options to browse photos and text of different areas for those who aren't sure what they want, but when it comes to searching for an actual cruise, the results should be plain text in a grid showing prices, ports and basic information, and hyperlinks for more information.

 

Celebrity - perhaps you need a focus group of your target passengers to tell you how frustrating your website is. Younger people aren't used to spending a lot of time trying to get information - they expect to have it at their fingertips. It's probably losing you money.

[Gracie115]

Considering the thousands of bookings on Celebrity, the few people complaining on Cruise Critic is fairly small in my opinion. Perhaps only a few people use Cruise Critic to complain. The percentage can be the same as your analogy and perspective equal.

You seem to have become one of the apologists for Celebrity that others are also complaining about. Celebrity can do no wrong and only a few people have issues. Cruise Critic is a microcosm of Celebrity clientele. Only a very few use it and those that do, express their pleasure or displeasure of their experience.

Your experience may be different and, as I said to you in another post where you defend Celebrity on this issue, good to hear you have had no problems and I hope you never do....and if you ever do, perhaps then you will feel differently and stop apologizing for a very very poor website.

 

very well said....thank you

[sollan]

Some say that Celebrity is trying to attract a younger client base; if that is the case, an appealing, functional website is extremely important.

 

Although I haven't had many of the issues others have reported, certain things drive me bonkers:

 

VERY, VERY well said!

[wpgcycler]

I guess the problem is that all of the lines are designing their websites to be usable on a mobile device

 

Is this sarcasm? The celebrity site is neither designed nor optimized for mobile devices and is probably less functional and less reliable when accessed with such a device. Their customer facing technology is a travesty - if I were a shareholder, I'd be concerned.

[Hlitner]

Is this sarcasm? The celebrity site is neither designed nor optimized for mobile devices and is probably less functional and less reliable when accessed with such a device. Their customer facing technology is a travesty - if I were a shareholder, I'd be concerned.

 

We have cruised on 14 different cruise lines (mostly booked online) and are underwhelmed by the web sites/technology of all those lines :). It is just one more reason (among many) why we generally prefer to book our cruises through one of several favorite online Cruise Agencies that have excellent web sites. Click click click and its done. We will then logon to the cruise line's own site (assuming it is even working) and check that our booking is properly noted.

 

Hank

[wpgcycler]

We have cruised on 14 different cruise lines (mostly booked online) and are underwhelmed by the web sites/technology of all those lines :). It is just one more reason (among many) why we generally prefer to book our cruises through one of several favorite online Cruise Agencies that have excellent web sites. Click click click and its done. We will then logon to the cruise line's own site (assuming it is even working) and check that our booking is properly noted.

 

Hank

 

Only cruised twice (both with Celebrity) and the benefits of booking with a cruise agency (for many reasons, as you suggest) were immediately apparent to me. it's really no excuse though for not providing an adequate customer interface.

[BrendaJ]

Is this sarcasm? The celebrity site is neither designed nor optimized for mobile devices and is probably less functional and less reliable when accessed with such a device. Their customer facing technology is a travesty - if I were a shareholder, I'd be concerned.

 

I actually wasn't being sarcastic - I was just trying to imagine why there would be so little information visible on the page when doing a search and concluded that since mobile real-estate is so limited, they only put as much information on a page as can be viewed easily on a phone or small tablet. I don't know about Celebrity, but I know government websites these days now need to be designed in such a way that the information can be accessed using assistive software and devices. That may also affect possible designs for websites.

 

Either way, it's no excuse for the function failures of Celebrity's web pages.

[bananawindnj]

We have cruised on 14 different cruise lines (mostly booked online) and are underwhelmed by the web sites/technology of all those lines :). It is just one more reason (among many) why we generally prefer to book our cruises through one of several favorite online Cruise Agencies that have excellent web sites. Click click click and its done. We will then logon to the cruise line's own site (assuming it is even working) and check that our booking is properly noted.

 

Hank

 

IMO , All cruise company's websites are trying to put too much information on them. From new bookings, to registration issues, excursions, dining and drink packages, , loyalty clubs and benefits. etc.

They are not doing any of those things well or computer friendly to the user. Eventually they , like every website will get it right. We will be the beta testers so to speak, early victims of their inexperience for a while I suspect.

You would think with most large cruise companies, that they could spend enough money and create a really usable web site that would be universal for all their subsidiary lines. e.g. RCCL with RC and Celebrity , Azamara,etc.

Why not a central website that would link to each line of the parent company?

All functions and choices should be the same for each line. No new learning curve when we go to another line. We use Celebrity and Royal most of the time. Why are they so different?

[Coterotie]

Considering the thousands of bookings on Celebrity ships, the few complaints about the website or phone call issues that we see on CC are fairly small in my opinion. People use different computers, browsers, mobile devices, etc. this complicates things. When the online and phone issues cause X to lose money, then they will make it right. The ships almost always fill up. If someone has loyalty status on a cruise line, it will take a lot for them to switch and start accumulating points on a new Line.

 

Well I have to say that I had such a bad experience with the website that I am seriously considering boycotting them until things improve. I have never had these problems with Princess.

[AtleeH]

They are different because at one time RC and X were totally separate companies. When RCCL bought X, RCCL should have either 1) had a completely new web design and soft ware written and implemented for both subsidiaries or, worse case, converted either RC to X if X's software system was better, or X to RC's system if RC's system was better.

 

You would think with most large cruise companies, that they could spend enough money and create a really usable web site that would be universal for all their subsidiary lines. e.g. RCCL with RC and Celebrity , Azamara,etc.

Why not a central website that would link to each line of the parent company?

All functions and choices should be the same for each line. No new learning curve when we go to another line. We use Celebrity and Royal most of the time. Why are they so different?

Edited January 12, 2016 by AtleeH

[FlorenceItaly]

Well I have to say that I had such a bad experience with the website that I am seriously considering boycotting them until things improve. I have never had these problems with Princess.

 

I agree, Celebrity could take a lesson from Princess in regards to their website. For myself, I will not be boycotting Celebrity, as currently they are my cruise line of choice.