Celebrity Experience - Unempathetic Corporate Office

[Orator]

Multiple times I did ask the Guest Relations desk for a manager.

 

 

 

Interesting point and it makes sense. I really really wanted to like Celebrity badly.

 

 

 

I emailed the President's Office and received a call from a representative. The conversation did not go well. For the trouble I had to endure with a nonworking cabin door, I hoped for empathy and a sincere apology specific to what happened to me. I got the generic apology: We at Celebrity strive... <incoming flying darts from those who thinks what happened was not big deal>

 

X did kindly offer to refund $67 (the balance we had on our onboard account) though.

 

 

 

This I DID NOT know! There are cruise lines employees lurking on the forum???

 

Yes, there is an official Celebrity media representative who posts on these boards. Celebrity is very active on Social Media.

In the future, don't expect anyone with less than 2 stripes to resolve issues. Don't believe when someone maning the counter at Guest Relations tells you that someone you need to speak is not available. Call the person directly. This applies not only to Celebrity. I learned this lesson on Princess, Royal Carribean, NCL and others.

The call you received was most likely from Kansas City, not Miami. Call Celebrity and ask for Resolutions Department. Hopefully, this works for you. Just tell them your story as precisely and unemotionally as possible. You want to make them aware of the problem so they may address it in the future in a better way. Don't lead by asking for compensation, but ask them what they might be able to do. Hope this works for you.

[K.T.B.]

I, too, was on this cruise. And, like Jen, I also had an issue with my door lock.

 

Thankfully, there were 2 officers walking by when we had an issue. One of them stayed behind and called for our room steward to come assist. Our room steward had the same issue in not being able to get in, so he went get the master key so we could access our room. We had NO issues after that. However, we had to deal with waiting for an hour to get into our room ONCE. Jen had to endure it NUMEROUS times.

 

We got lucky; she, unfortunately, did not. So I know exactly how she feels. For me it was a relatively minor inconvenience that was rectified somewhat quickly for which I did get a quick apology. If I had to deal with the same issue, a standard apology wouldn't cut it though.

 

She definitely deserves more than what she's received from Celebrity and I don't mean financially.

[CruisingChick]

Call the person directly. This applies not only to Celebrity.

 

Maybe I am too busy having fun on cruises, but how do you get the numbers to call officers directly while on the ship? Don't think I've ever seen them listed anywhere.

 

Thanks.

[Orator]

Maybe I am too busy having fun on cruises, but how do you get the numbers to call officers directly while on the ship? Don't think I've ever seen them listed anywhere.

 

Thanks.

 

Call the Operator and ask for the Guest relations Manager or Hotel Director.

If you see the GRM or Hotel Director ask for their card. They keep a supply on them and it includes their direct number.

[Can'tstopcruising]

Call the Operator and ask for the Guest relations Manager or Hotel Director.

If you see the GRM or Hotel Director ask for their card. They keep a supply on them and it includes their direct number.

 

Good tip! Thanks

[richsea]

[quote name=Orator;50845058...

If the OP hasn't contacted the Post Cruise Resolutions Department' date=' they should. I also wonder why CelebrityCruises, the representative that posts on this board, hasn't responded. They have been of great help to others who experienced problems and were frustrated by responses.[/quote]

 

It seems that the Celebrity Cruises rep that was on these boards left some months ago, & was replaced by another "person" who is good at copying & pasting blurbs from their website, & not much more than that.

 

I do have an idea of a fantastic replacement however; keeping my fingers crossed.;)

[Mynki]

This I DID NOT know! There are cruise lines employees lurking on the forum???

 

Probably best to forget all about that account. The person rarely posts these days. Although they have helped some people they have also made more than one error in their postings and so their communications cannot really be trusted. As a result the poster has been chastised by quite a few forum members.

 

It's a massive opportunity lost really because if they did have a competent team posting on here it would be very helpful. They blatantly ignore many messages though so don't expect to see a reply and in fairness too them, this wouldn't be the correct channel for your complaint anyway. That said if they've paid you compensation it is actually now dealt with in their eyes.

[wwcruisers]

It seems that the Celebrity Cruises rep that was on these boards left some months ago, & was replaced by another "person" who is good at copying & pasting blurbs from their website, & not much more than that.

 

I do have an idea of a fantastic replacement however; keeping my fingers crossed.;)

 

LOL, Rich -- think I know who you're talking about (and agree completely)! :cool::D

[CruisingChick]

Call the Operator and ask for the Guest relations Manager or Hotel Director.

If you see the GRM or Hotel Director ask for their card. They keep a supply on them and it includes their direct number.

 

Thanks for the info.

[CruisingChick]

It seems that the Celebrity Cruises rep that was on these boards left some months ago, & was replaced by another "person" who is good at copying & pasting blurbs from their website, & not much more than that.

 

Yes, I miss the old "Celebrity Cruises" poster. He would read something I would post here on CC and then contact me via direct messaging on Twitter. Kind of freaked me out at first - you know that "Big Brother watching" type thing. But he genuinely wanted to help and try to resolve issues.

 

It's almost year now he's been gone.

Edited August 23, 2016 by CruisingChick

[Gishua_]

I am sharing this experience to inform potential Celebrity cruisers - if you have a major problem on the ship, do not think the shoreside (corporate office) cares! I took it as far as both the CEO and President's Office.

 

We sailed on the Celebrity Millennium (Alaskan Northbound) on May 27, 2016. I was so excited about the cruise because I was able to finally convince my DH to go. He prefers warm-weather places and thinks Alaska is below 50 degrees 365 days a year. :)

 

I sent a detailed email to Celebrity president's office with of issues from this cruise. I received a call from someone in that department (not sure I am allowed to post names here) - not an ounce of empathy. There was no accountability or responsibility accepted by Celebrity. For some reason, Celebrity believes that because I did get a cabin on the ship, regardless if the cabin did not have a properly functioning door 6 out of 7 cruise days, that it is the same as a cabin with a properly functioning door, so therefore I am not entitled any portion of the fare back. More details below.

 

All I know is that the conversation with the person this morning has turned me off of Celebrity. My first time on Celebrity and last. So maybe that is why they do not care. We have 2 more bookings with RCCL to finish up and then will go back to Princess, which we left because we thought RCCL ever since our DD was born.

 

*********************************************

 

Here are a few of the issues:

Minor Issues:

1. Apparently on Celebrity, status does not mean anything. This was our 1st Celebrity cruise. But because of the relationship between RCCL and Celebrity, we were given Elite status on Celebrity. But Elite status is the same as no status. We had no priority boarding, which is a really nice benefit.

Moderate Issues:

1. It is obvious Guest Services and Captains Club staff can treat passengers as such because they know corporate would not care. That was very apparent in my conversation with the Celebrity representative who made zero apology. I provided very specific examples of "training opportunities", but those fell on deaf ears.

 

Captain Club staff arguing with me for about 5 min. I asked for the paper that showed where the activities were for Elite members. Rather than just providing me a copy, the person and I spent 5 min bantering:

 

CC staff: I gave you a copy of it already.

me: No you didn't.

CC staff: Yes I am sure I did. I always give that to passengers when they first come up to the table.

me: I still don't have the paperwork. Can I get another one?

cc staff: well what happened to the one I gave you?

me: I didn't get one.

...on and on and on. This should have been a 5 second conversation with her giving me another copy.

 

2. Celebrity needs to be very explicit with the passengers that the spa is a separate entity, and the cruise line cannot help with any issues. I had always assumed (and you know what happens when one assumes) the cruise line will assist when an issue arise.

 

3. For the major issue I had on the ship, NOT one officer at Guest Services or Engineering apologized or reached out to me while onboard.

 

Major Issue:

 

I thought only I saw it as such until I spoke with fellow passengers. Everyone of them said it was ridiculous what I had to deal with.

 

I became an unwilling participant in the blame/finger-pointin game between maintenance and guest services.

 

I had a cabin where the door would not open whenever I put the key card in. For the first 3 days of the cruise, I made many many trips to Guest Services to get new keys - all times of the day. None of them worked. Imagine how many times one goes in and out of your cabin - that is how many times I had to visit Guest Services to get a new card. Even one occurrence resulted in multiple trips for a key card because the new card (just given to me) did not work. There were times I was fortunate to find a cabin steward to let me in, eliminating a trek to Guest Services.

 

Day 4: Maintenance replaced the key card reader. Everything was functioning as expected until Day 6.

 

Day 6: Key card reader failure. Up to this point, I have been very patience, respectful and nice to all staff. But when the reader failed, I ended up just crying. I have been pushed to my breaking point.

 

It was discovered on Day 6 that I have a bad door mechanism. So maintenance spent a few hours replacing the entire door mechanism.

 

*********************************************.

To add insult to injury, the person from the executive office who called me:

1. Offered reimbursement of $67 - the balance on my onboard account. No consideration that I had to spend part of my onboard credits for something I did not want, but did because of the ship.

2. Told me that Guest Services credited back over $500 to my onboard account. I had to do the persons work and explain:

a. Bar credit was due to an error. We were charged for a drink even though we had the drink package!

b. Internet credit. There was a mix up in our status. When I checked in online, the system correctly reflected our Elite status. But when we checked in at the terminal, we were given Select status. The internet credit was for the free internet minutes for Elite members.

c. Specialty dining credits. Guest services insisted over and over for me to go to the Specialty Dining because I was crying and maintenance needed the room to fix the door!

3. The only apology given during the phone call, which was made later in the call instead of right at the start, was a generic scripted apology!

 

 

Besides an untimely apologizes and a couple rude encounters you really have nothing here. Working in customer service is really about being nice, listening and reading the customer and how they are going to react to what you give them as compensation to their complaint.

 

Nothing you experienced was horrible. I think what they did was fine. They most likely viewed you as irrational, needy and not able to make happy. In that case, they offered you something to try to make you feel better but for you it wasn't enough. They could have been more nice and maybe sent you some chocolates or invited you to dine for free in a specialty restaurant, most likely though it seems something would have gone wrong in your eyes which would have lead to further complaints. The fact that they responded and offered you something is the company taking blame for something on their end that was wrong.

 

On another note, I think its important to remember when staying in a hotel, cruise or any location where the same people will be assisting you for the duration of you stay, to always be polite and easy going. Most likely after one negative encounter they are keeping a file on you and what you have complained about and said. In fact, most likely they discussed you and your complaints at some sort of meeting. This is common practice in most if not all customer service jobs I have worked in.

[milesfromu]

Not surprised this thread exploded. O.P, we feel your pain. We had a similar experience on Summit in April 2014. We had several little problems, but the big one was a leaking shower connection that curtailed water pressure so much that you couldnt even rinse soap of your skin. We reported it on day one and it never got fixed. Started with room steward, then guest relations, then guest relations mgr, then hotel director. Not quite the same level of inconvenience, and we totally understand that things fall through the cracks, but it really bothered us. We too addressed it in the survey, then with a phone call. Never did we hear from anyone that seemed to care. We were ready to cancel our other two bookings for future cruises. However, based on how much we enjoyed our previous sailings we thought we would give X one more try, then cancel the remaining one if we were unhappy.

 

Our next sailing was flawless, and the three after that have been nearly flawless, including two additional sailings on the Summit. For what it is worth, we received a bonus OBC of $100 six months after we wrote X of our April 2014 experience. We were working with a customer service agent to resolve a conflict with our reservation for November 2014 and she noted our communication on file and voila (message was: you should not have had to go through that and we appreciate you giving us another chance).

 

Again, we feel your pain and have been equally frustrated with the lack of follow-up and compassion (from X and members of this board). However, we have learned that it does come down to finding the right person at the right time to get true resolution (composure is also a key to getting a positive response). It is sad that you have been unable to secure that resolution, similar to our experience in 2014. We did not give up, and we do not encourage you to either.

[richsea]

LOL, Rich -- think I know who you're talking about (and agree completely)! :cool::D

 

One can only hope Suzanne. OTOH, I would not wish that job on my worst enemy!:eek:

[lifeasme123]

Hi Jane & Kevin!!! Miss you guys! Thanks for chiming in - as you read, some posts weren't too nice. :) Funny thing is some people who weren't on the cruise assumed I was emotional, etc, and do not know how calm and nice I was. Hope things are well in ChiTown and FL!

 

Jane - thanks to you and bob for sharing your aft balcony with us multiple times when we couldn't get into our cabin. I see you and Caroline have a mom/daughter trip coming up....exciting!

 

Kevin - I didn't realize you had issue with your door as well. sorry!

 

***************

 

For everyone else on the thread:

 

I did not post this for Celebrity to read. In fact, I did not cruise lines have employees on cruise critic reading forum. I learned that through this thread.

 

If anything, I did learn two things:

 

1. It is so far easier to call people names and attack them personally through a computer screen. It does not bother me one bit because I know I am in the right here.

 

2. I learned a lot of tips for future cruises on other lines (ie. getting the Hotel Director and GSM cards from the getgo, etc)

[happy 2 b cruising]

Your post articulated my situation much better than I did! Thank you. I would like to borrow some of your wording in my sail review on CC, if that is ok with you.

 

Your last paragraph hit the nail on the head as to how my DH and I feel about Celebrity and RCI. Airline tickets (10 of them) are already booked for the 12 day cruise on Anthem in Jan 2017 so we cannot cancel that. however, DH said last night to not do the Dec 2017 cruise. Instead we will try a European river cruise next summer.

 

It's been 4 months since the cruise and our feeling has not changed. In fact, it is worse now because of how the Executive Office responded.

 

I truly understand your frustration. We had the same merry go round on who was going to fix the problem on our Thanksgiving cruise onboard the Constellation. It was a 5 night cruise to the Caribbean and the temperature was in the 90"s. Our air conditioner did not work for 3 days and very hot nights. Every afternoon we were promised it was fixed and every night it sounded like a jet engine was going off in our room but no cool air was coming out. Many trips to managers, finally spoke to the Chief Engineer and on the 4th day of a 5 night trip a new part was finally put in and the problem fixed. The solution from Celebrity for not being able to sleep for three nights out of a five night cruise was a $100 future cruise certificate. Busy week no other rooms available, we were in a Concierge Balcony cabin. Very, Very frustrated,

we were on a Family cruise and this problem should not have taken 4 days to fix this problem.

[lifeasme123]

Besides an untimely apologizes and a couple rude encounters you really have nothing here. Working in customer service is really about being nice, listening and reading the customer and how they are going to react to what you give them as compensation to their complaint.

 

Nothing you experienced was horrible. I think what they did was fine. They most likely viewed you as irrational, needy and not able to make happy. In that case, they offered you something to try to make you feel better but for you it wasn't enough. They could have been more nice and maybe sent you some chocolates or invited you to dine for free in a specialty restaurant, most likely though it seems something would have gone wrong in your eyes which would have lead to further complaints. The fact that they responded and offered you something is the company taking blame for something on their end that was wrong.

 

On another note, I think its important to remember when staying in a hotel, cruise or any location where the same people will be assisting you for the duration of you stay, to always be polite and easy going. Most likely after one negative encounter they are keeping a file on you and what you have complained about and said. In fact, most likely they discussed you and your complaints at some sort of meeting. This is common practice in most if not all customer service jobs I have worked in.

 

Please read through the entire thread before commenting. I was NEVER needy, irrational, or disrespectful to anyone on that cruise! Do not make assumptions. If you want to know how I acted on the ship, then please ask.

 

Your comment is off the mark.

 

Nothing you experienced was horrible.

 

When this happens to you, just remember it's not horrible. SMH.

Edited August 23, 2016 by jen70

[Mynki]

Jen70

 

What are you hoping people will take from this thread? :)

[lifeasme123]

Jen70

 

What are you hoping people will take from this thread? :)

 

My original intent were two-fold:

 

1. To post my experience. That is what I have done in the past - good and bad. I post to TripAdvisor, complete surveys, etc. I just viewed this as another forum to post ones experience.

 

2. To get constructive feedback/suggestions. I was pretty confident that I was not the only person treated this way. I wanted to get advice from others how they handled their particular situation. Learning experience for me.

 

Unfortunately the thread turned into something else and I am finding myself standing up to cyber bullying.

 

I had surgery recently and at home resting. So I have nothing better to do than research for my next trip via cruise critic (port, roll call, etc)

Edited August 23, 2016 by jen70

[Mynki]

My original intent were two-fold:

 

1. To post my experience. That is what I have done in the past - good and bad. I post to TripAdvisor, complete surveys, etc. I just viewed this as another forum to post ones experience.

 

2. To get constructive feedback/suggestions. I was pretty confident that I was not the only person treated this way. I wanted to get advice from others how they handled their particular situation. Learning experience for me.

 

Unfortunately the thread turned into something else and I am finding myself standing up to cyber bullying.

 

I had surgery recently and at home resting. So I have nothing better to do than research for my next trip via cruise critic (port, roll call, etc)

 

It's cruise critic, not sure if cyber bullying is the right phrase. Maybe cyber whining. It happens a lot on here.

 

But if X have already compensated you the matter will be considered dealt with by them. What are you wanting feedback and suggestions for? Are you still angling for further compensation and asking how to get it etc?

 

You can pick any cruise line forum on here and you'll find threads similar to your own. Sadly not everyone experiences a perfect cruise.

[lifeasme123]

It's cruise critic, not sure if cyber bullying is the right phrase. Maybe cyber whining. It happens a lot on here.

 

ok point taken.

 

But if X have already compensated you the matter will be considered dealt with by them. What are you wanting feedback and suggestions for? Are you still angling for further compensation and asking how to get it etc?

.

 

Realistic or not, I had hoped a sincere apology and them taking ownership for what happened. How they responded is why I will move on to a different line.

 

 

You can pick any cruise line forum on here and you'll find threads similar to your own. Sadly not everyone experiences a perfect cruise.

 

Understood. No company, person, etc is 100% perfect. Things happen and problems arise. As WpgCruise stated perfectly: "While problems can happen anywhere, how or even if they are resolved speaks to the character of the company. Not good Celebrity, not good at all."

 

So until a company does something to me, I will give them a try.

[wwcruisers]

OP -- Sorry that this happened to you, and that you are having difficulty getting the issues resolved. I would point out, however, that some very experienced cruisers have taken the time to give you some excellent advice, here. And yes, it is easy to get your feelings hurt on this (or any social media) forum. But, sometimes you have to sift through garbage to find the gold! :cool:

 

And, I cannot imagine the frustration of being constantly locked out of your cabin. On one of my early cruises, I was stumped over why my card never worked (several trips to the GR desk) -- but, my DH had no problems whatsoever, with his card. Turns out that the chic little bag I'd bought (just for that vacation) was LOADED with magnets! Every time I put my card in my purse, it de-magnetized! :eek: Now, I know that your issue turned out the be more serious than that, but I can definitely empathize with your predicament. Hope that you get your issues satisfactorily resolved, and that you'll give X another chance. :)

Edited August 23, 2016 by wwcruisers

[hopeless holiday booker]

I can't believe how odd people are being to the OP. If every time I used my key I had to go back down to the desk it would get right on my nerves!!! All you need straight away is understanding an apology and action. If the action doesn't help, I'd expect continued understanding - yes a pain but not by her own doing - not her fault the key didn't work.

[chamima]

It seems that the Celebrity Cruises rep that was on these boards left some months ago, & was replaced by another "person" who is good at copying & pasting blurbs from their website, & not much more than that.

 

I do have an idea of a fantastic replacement however; keeping my fingers crossed.;)

 

LOL, Rich -- think I know who you're talking about (and agree completely)! :cool::D

 

 

 

I think I know who both of you are referring to but he has already said in his farewell post that his new job will not be on the Celebrity board.

Too bad! :(

 

 

And Jen, for what it's worth, I can't imagine the frustration of having to return to Guest Services over and over and over again to just be able to get into your cabin.

I, too,(like Jane) would have gone ballistic by the third time!

[Mynki]

 

 

 

Realistic or not, I had hoped a sincere apology and them taking ownership for what happened. How they responded is why I will move on to a different line.

 

I can understand that. But if you've not had a sincere apology by now after talking to many employees I think it's safe to say that you won't get one going forward. But you didn't answer my question. Are you still hoping for additional compensation?

 

 

 

Understood. No company, person, etc is 100% perfect. Things happen and problems arise. As WpgCruise stated perfectly: "While problems can happen anywhere, how or even if they are resolved speaks to the character of the company. Not good Celebrity, not good at all."

 

So until a company does something to me, I will give them a try.

 

Don't know if you saw my post in this thread about an item of my property being damaged by a leaking tap on Millennium but I was compensated very quickly with no quibbles at all. So I don't think Celebrity are no good at all. In fact we had an issue on my last cruise and that problem was immediately dealt with professionally.

 

So I think your unfortunate experience (And I would be seething in your position) is very much the exception and not the rule. The scores achieved by averaging thousands of peoples opinion on a site like this would suggest that the cruise line offers very good service. The fact that the ships are sailing at full capacity or very, very close to it speaks volumes. I don't for one nano second this your experience is indicative of what thousands of other sailors will experience every week.

[lifeasme123]

And Jen, for what it's worth, I can't imagine the frustration of having to return to Guest Services over and over and over again to just be able to get into your cabin.

I, too,(like Jane) would have gone ballistic by the third time!

 

Thanks Karen.

 

I guess I was worried about how I would be perceived by the crew. I tried to be kind, nice and respectful. I didn't want to labeled as that "unemotional", crazy, ballastic person. Heck if I did, then there will be those on this forum who will blame me for behaving as such.

 

By day 6 - I lost it and just cried in the hallway in front of passengers, crew members, and the guest services staff.