Rare villauk Posted January 16, 2017 #326 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Probably true but when that is the information they provide on the 'buy now' and confirmation pages they are obliged to fulfill it. Sent from my iPad using Forums :D Oh wait , you're serious ? Bottles of water come to mind :rolleyes:. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisercl Posted January 16, 2017 #327 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Wouldn't a person think that all of these totally congested halls etc. (with all of the luggage and people) be a major safety issue? What if there was a fire let alone the mob mentality that often comes with situations like this? The staff does very little to temper the situations which is why disembarkation becomes a very unpleasant thing. I have seen people get nasty when disembarking. Just saying....:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscobeans Posted January 16, 2017 #328 Share Posted January 16, 2017 I'll just stick to the martini or ensemble bars and pay my way. So, that said, from a benefits standpoint, having to leave the cabin at 07:00 maybe isn't such a bad deal. I guess X has to pay for the ever-growing army of Elites and above somehow. If it came down to a scoop of gelato, a couple of free cocktails, a bag of laundry and a bottle of "shampain", I would rather be able to relax and enjoy my last day on the ship as much as is possible. As far as Internet? I use it for less than 5 minutes a day only on sea days, just to touch base at home, when in ports I use the phone. bosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagoffee Posted January 16, 2017 #329 Share Posted January 16, 2017 so with the old time of 8am I know many who saw that as 9.. so maybe they are seeing this new 7am as a way to clear rooms by 8am.. just a theory I believe you are correct. I do not think the policy of vacating your cabin at 7 AM is any different than the check in at a certain time on embarkation, no savings of chairs at the pool or theater, no socializing (reading and game playing) in the OV during dining times, or anyone other rule that does involve safety or the protection of the environment. Personally I try to get off the ship ASAP because I dread the experience and want to get to the airport. I do agree that 7 AM is absurd, but I am always out of my room early. Of course the most relaxing process woukd be one that insures you can depart the ship as soon as you leave the cabin. It seems like the popularity of the self embarkation process with all luggage is increasing and it creates a mess in the common areas and elevators. I would rather Celebrity not offer that option, but I have only used it once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen haywood Posted January 16, 2017 #330 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Wouldn't a person think that all of these totally congested halls etc. (with all of the luggage and people) be a major safety issue? What if there was a fire let alone the mob mentality that often comes with situations like this? The staff does very little to temper the situations which is why disembarkation becomes a very unpleasant thing. I have seen people get nasty when disembarking. Just saying....:) I've wondered that as well! On Royal and NCL there are lots of staff manning the lines and keeping order. Not so on our last debarkation on Eclipse. We were doing self-debarkation and went down to Deck 5 before the scheduled time. Of course there was already a LONG line of people. The debarkation letter had said to use both forward and midship elevators. We used the forward ones. The problem was when we got out of the elevator the line to get off had already started moving and was using the exit door right there by the theater on the starboard side. It was impossible for us to swim against the tide to fight our way back aft to join the end of the line. So we and everybody else in the forward stairwell had to merge with the line coming from aft. This of course caused some grumbles from people who had been waiting in line. If X wanted to keep order then there should have been a staff member at the forward elevator bay directing traffic to have us go through the photo section on the port side....and then there would need to be another staff member where the photo section ends keeping the exiting line close to the wall so there could be two way traffic. Us trying to go aft to reach the end of the line and the rest of the line moving forward. Regardless there should have been a staff member for just the reason mentioned. What if there was a cry of fire or some other panic? All those people in such tight quarters.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingChick Posted January 16, 2017 #331 Share Posted January 16, 2017 This is getting ridiculous. I am assuming they must have cut stateroom attendant staff because why else would they need more time to get staterooms ready than they already have? I don't mind if I can't get into my stateroom until 1:30 pm or 2 pm on embarkation day as long as I can enjoy the rest of the ship, but on disembarkation day I don't want to wake up by 6 am to be out by 7 am. That's too early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedofharpenden Posted January 16, 2017 #332 Share Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) This is getting ridiculous. I am assuming they must have cut stateroom attendant staff because why else would they need more time to get staterooms ready than they already have? In the second half of 2016 they did away with assistant cabin stewards. There is now just one steward for each stateroom. They look after less cabins (depending upon location on the ship 12 is the number I have at the back of my mind), but you can be sure that their work load has increased. This has to be the reason for the change and I think it's a very poor decision. I also feel for the housekeeping staff trying their best to make it work. Edited January 16, 2017 by excitedofharpenden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingChick Posted January 16, 2017 #333 Share Posted January 16, 2017 In the second half of 2016 they did away with assistant cabin stewards. There is now just one steward for each stateroom. They look after less cabins (depending upon location on the ship 12 is the number I have at the back of my mind), but you can be sure that their work load has increased. This has to be the reason for the change and I think it's a very poor decision. I also feel for the housekeeping staff trying their best to make it work. We must have just missed this change over on Summit. Our last Celebrity cruise was on Summit September 4-18, 2016. We had both attendant and assistant and they were both very good. Actually our assistant was the same as our May 2016 cruise on Summit. I agree it's a poor decision if it is impacting customer enjoyment and quality of service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted January 16, 2017 #334 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Lets try to straighten out some of the posts. Up until recently, Celebrity cabin stewards worked in teams (of 2)...which was actually a change from years ago when each cabin had their own assigned steward. Recently (in the past few months) Celebrity has switched back to stewards each having their own assigned cabins (no more teams). On our recent Eclipse cruise I believe our steward was servicing 11 cabins. When they worked in teams they had many more cabins...so not sure this change does more then clarify who is responsible for each cabin. As to the 7 am vacate rule, this was in effect on our recent Eclipse Cruise. Nobody was knocking at your door at 7am and telling you to "get out" but they did make it clear in the daily schedule that they wanted passengers to vacate by 7. Everyone was assigned a lounge for waiting. But by trying to "encourage" everyone to be out and about so early. it put an even greater strain on getting an elevator. While this system might benefit the cabin stewards, it is awful for the passengers and contrary to what happens on most other cruise lines. This is in keeping with the current Celebrity management philosophy to treat passengers like sheep....gradually taking away more and more things.....and hoping they do not notice. But....we do notice! Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniegb Posted January 16, 2017 #335 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Lets try to straighten out some of the posts. Up until recently, Celebrity cabin stewards worked in teams (of 2)...which was actually a change from years ago when each cabin had their own assigned steward. Recently (in the past few months) Celebrity has switched back to stewards each having their own assigned cabins (no more teams). On our recent Eclipse cruise I believe our steward was servicing 11 cabins. When they worked in teams they had many more cabins...so not sure this change does more then clarify who is responsible for each cabin. As to the 7 am vacate rule, this was in effect on our recent Eclipse Cruise. Nobody was knocking at your door at 7am and telling you to "get out" but they did make it clear in the daily schedule that they wanted passengers to vacate by 7. Everyone was assigned a lounge for waiting. But by trying to "encourage" everyone to be out and about so early. it put an even greater strain on getting an elevator. While this system might benefit the cabin stewards, it is awful for the passengers and contrary to what happens on most other cruise lines. This is in keeping with the current Celebrity management philosophy to treat passengers like sheep....gradually taking away more and more things.....and hoping they do not notice. But....we do notice! Hank My steward had an allocation of 14 cabins. Annie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekathy Posted January 16, 2017 #336 Share Posted January 16, 2017 They are serious in having a last throw at taking nichols and dimes. I hope people do keep adding comments from their real experience having been onboard and had experience of how much it did or did not effect their leaving the ship and breakfast. The best insight for good or ill is from those who have been there. Agree. I'm hoping those that had a bad experience concerning this will contact Celebrity and voice their concerns. It can't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIATPAC29 Posted January 16, 2017 #337 Share Posted January 16, 2017 I'm thinking that the same people who complain about being out by 7 are the same people who demand to be in their rooms as early as possible. Sent from my SM-G920P using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bEwAbG Posted January 16, 2017 #338 Share Posted January 16, 2017 I'm thinking that the same people who complain about being out by 7 are the same people who demand to be in their rooms as early as possible. Sent from my SM-G920P using Forums mobile app I'm sure there's overlap but you're ignoring the dozens of people who have expressly said they don't care about getting in their rooms early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silhouette2017 Posted January 16, 2017 #339 Share Posted January 16, 2017 I'm thinking that the same people who complain about being out by 7 are the same people who demand to be in their rooms as early as possible. For me, not at all. I wouldn't mind getting into my cabin at 3 PM if it means that I don't have to get out at 7. When you board the ship there are plenty of things to do. When you need to exit the ship there is nothing to do while you wait for your number, so staying in the cabin would be super! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goofysmom99 Posted January 16, 2017 #340 Share Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) I’m back-pedaling somewhat on my stance regarding the earlier departure time. Do I still think 07:00 is too early? Absolutely! Do I hope they go back to 08:00? Another resounding yes. But will it make me change cruise lines? Maybe. The earlier departure Thursday was merely the final annoyance in an overall annoying cruise last week. I ultimately had to escalate a ridiculous cabin maintenance issue (no blackout curtain) 3 levels to upper management; meet with Food & Beverage Mgr re serious food allergy mistakes; and deal with a very personable cabin steward who, among other things, told me that Concierge welcoming champagne was available “only on request.” Ditto most of the other Concierge perks. Maybe that was his way of dealing with 14 cabins. BTW, the blackout curtain wasn’t fixed until the final evening and of course we had to get up well before daylight the next morning (or as my DH used to say, might as well get dressed and stand in the closet all night). Regarding my personal disenchantment with Celebrity, I’ve felt for quite awhile that we’re being nibbled to death by ducks. (Skip the rose vase and bad champagne and let me sleep an hour later, please.) However, assigning a dollar value to the Elite Plus perks I use (3 daily club sodas @ $10, 4-5 coffees/equivalent @ $20, 240 wifi minutes @ $109, and 1 gelato @ $4 ;)), equates to close to $500 on a 14-day cruise, my usual length. Is $500 worth getting up an hour earlier? For me and for the time being, it is. Nevertheless, will be trying out Azamara for 2018 TA. Edited January 16, 2017 by goofysmom99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUU Posted January 16, 2017 #341 Share Posted January 16, 2017 I'm thinking that the same people who complain about being out by 7 are the same people who demand to be in their rooms as early as possible.I don't know about that but I do suspect that either way they'll be folks who won't like one possible remedy: I can imagine the next step being vacate by 9am or 10am, the ship clear of debarking passengers by 11am, embarkation begins at 3pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare villauk Posted January 16, 2017 #342 Share Posted January 16, 2017 My steward had an allocation of 14 cabins. Annie So did our attendant ;). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chamima Posted January 16, 2017 #343 Share Posted January 16, 2017 I’m back-pedaling somewhat on my stance regarding the earlier departure time. Do I still think 07:00 is too early? Absolutely! Do I hope they go back to 08:00? Another resounding yes. But will it make me change cruise lines? Maybe. The earlier departure Thursday was merely the final annoyance in an overall annoying cruise last week. I ultimately had to escalate a ridiculous cabin maintenance issue (no blackout curtain) 3 levels to upper management; meet with Food & Beverage Mgr re serious food allergy mistakes; and deal with a very personable cabin steward who, among other things, told me that Concierge welcoming champagne was available “only on request.” Ditto most of the other Concierge perks. Maybe that was his way of dealing with 14 cabins. BTW, the blackout curtain wasn’t fixed until the final evening and of course we had to get up well before daylight the next morning (or as my DH used to say, might as well get dressed and stand in the closet all night). Regarding my personal disenchantment with Celebrity, I’ve felt for quite awhile that we’re being nibbled to death by ducks. (Skip the rose vase and bad champagne and let me sleep an hour later, please.) However, assigning a dollar value to the Elite Plus perks I use (3 daily club sodas @ $10, 4-5 coffees/equivalent @ $20, 240 wifi minutes @ $109, and 1 gelato @ $4 ;)), equates to close to $500 on a 14-day cruise, my usual length. Is $500 worth getting up an hour earlier? For me and for the time being, it is. Nevertheless, will be trying out Azamara for 2018 TA. So sorry you had to have that yucky experience on what should have been a relaxing vacation. [emoji33] Can I ask what ship you were on? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goofysmom99 Posted January 16, 2017 #344 Share Posted January 16, 2017 So sorry you had to have that yucky experience on what should have been a relaxing vacation. [emoji33]Can I ask what ship you were on? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Short 4-nighter on Silhouette. Ironically, I specifically took it to book some future cruises. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chamima Posted January 16, 2017 #345 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Short 4-nighter on Silhouette. Ironically, I specifically took it to book some future cruises. :rolleyes: Good thing the deposits are refundable. [emoji6] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riocca Posted January 16, 2017 #346 Share Posted January 16, 2017 The point of the thread is about vacating cabins earlier not disembarking early, on Constellation the last departure was at 9.30am this was fine and exactly what we expected and in line with our previous Celebrity cruises, this was our 9th with Celebrity. Having had a number of recent cruises where no cabin vacation times were stated, in fact the wording was vacate your cabin when your ready, we thought the early departure was a retrograde step. The other ships including two of Royal's largest had more passengers a more relaxed procedure and the same last departure time. Having potentially to wander the ship with hand luggage for breakfast then sit in a lounge for potentially two and a half hours is not a modern luxury cruise experience. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingChick Posted January 16, 2017 #347 Share Posted January 16, 2017 The point of the thread is about vacating cabins earlier not disembarking early, on Constellation the last departure was at 9.30am this was fine and exactly what we expected and in line with our previous Celebrity cruises, this was our 9th with Celebrity.Having had a number of recent cruises where no cabin vacation times were stated, in fact the wording was vacate your cabin when your ready, we thought the early departure was a retrograde step. The other ships including two of Royal's largest had more passengers a more relaxed procedure and the same last departure time. Having potentially to wander the ship with hand luggage for breakfast then sit in a lounge for potentially two and a half hours is not a modern luxury cruise experience. Sent from my iPad using Forums I remember a time when it was not unusual for us to be debarking at 10 am or even 10:15 or 10:30 am. I was just thinking about it yesterday that I would be happy if we were home around 11:30 am - 12 noon (we live 58 miles from Cape Liberty). Now we are usually back in town around 9:30 am and grocery shopping. Seems Celebrity continues to push for early as possible disembarkation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pushka Posted January 16, 2017 #348 Share Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) Deja vu. Did we not have this exact same conversation 9 pages ago (see post #141) :confused:? Must be Ground Hog Day :D. Indeed we did. But people don't read through the whole thread. :p I'm perfectly happy with 3pm into cabins. But part of me wonders if the package might eventually be out at 7 and in at a later time also. Edited January 16, 2017 by Pushka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 4cats4me Posted January 16, 2017 #349 Share Posted January 16, 2017 I'm thinking that the same people who complain about being out by 7 are the same people who demand to be in their rooms as early as possible. Sent from my SM-G920P using Forums mobile app Nope. I like to board late but would appreciate an 8 am vacate time as opposed to a 7 am vacate time Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOnymously Posted January 16, 2017 Author #350 Share Posted January 16, 2017 I'm sure there's overlap but you're ignoring the dozens of people who have expressly said they don't care about getting in their rooms early. Not from me. Happy to board late or to get into cabins late. Last cruise, not Celebrity, we were on we were not due to even board ship until 2.30pm. We had an easy leave after breakfast and back to cabin to pick up luggage and use the bathroom. Good old Fred Olsen. We will be back Fred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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