Pitiful

[warmwinds]

We were on our first Celebrity cruise on Solstice in 2017 for my DH’S significant birthday. On embarkation day quickly bought a specialty package assuming Murano was the place to be on THE night. No fuss wanted! Sadly Murano was full so I explained my dilemma. No probs. Leave it with us! That evening we had a booking! On THE night we had a great table and after our wonderful lobster dinner and rejection of dessert, DH had a covered silver plate put in front of him with their choc dessert underneath! He was impressed and specially with no singing!! We couldnt eat it so they delivered it to our cabin. Made for a special night!maybe we were lucky with the staff involved??

 

Getting the staff involved doesn't always help, you got lucky.

 

For my husband's birthday I asked the M'D in Blu for a cake on the night. No problem I was assured. The dinner came and went, no cake. On the way out I told him how disappointed I was - the look of shock on his face! He had simply completely forgotten! So of course we have the cake the NEXT night, and then we get ANOTHER (of the exact same cake) delivered to our cabin. What can you do? People are human. It was disappointing at the time but you just have to let it go.

[Chanbre]

We were on our first Celebrity cruise on Solstice in 2017 for my DH’S significant birthday. On embarkation day quickly bought a specialty package assuming Murano was the place to be on THE night. No fuss wanted! Sadly Murano was full so I explained my dilemma. No probs. Leave it with us! That evening we had a booking! On THE night we had a great table and after our wonderful lobster dinner and rejection of dessert, DH had a covered silver plate put in front of him with their choc dessert underneath! He was impressed and specially with no singing!! We couldnt eat it so they delivered it to our cabin. Made for a special night!maybe we were lucky with the staff involved??

 

We had an almost identical experience on Eclipse in August 2017. On our first evening went to guest services and booked some birthday treats and a meal in Murano for a few days later. The only meal time offered was not ideal for us. Went to Murano itself, had a conversation with someone there and a few hours later we got a message that our booking had been changed to a good time for us. The birthday flowers + cake + wine in our room were great. The lobster etc in Murano was great. My wife was happy. What more can a man want!

[HokiePoq]

I have found that other lines have the same problems with special events (unless you purchase a special package if available).

 

Personally, I don't tell any line about a special event anymore. We just book a specialty restaurant and enjoy the evening.

 

This is true. Our friend's birthday was missed on HAL and her husband complained. Then came flowers, wine, and cake to the cabin. I didn't think it was that big a deal myself. No fuss over my birthday a couple of weeks later on this long cruise.

[WpgCruise]

I'he a!ways understood that dining time/place is never guaranteed. While we may request fixed there is no guarantee we will get it. On one back to back at the end of the first leg, we asked to be moved from fixed to anytime and the answer was a polite but firm "No".

 

Re the O.P.'S perception of staff responding in an abrupt manner, I've found usually I get as good as I give. Could that be the reason the O,P, didn't care for the tone ?

 

It may be the travel agent didn't communicate to the ship the special occasion, it may be the ship slipped up, but things happen and not too much value in carrying a grudge.

 

It may well be the O.P. wants a level of service the mainline cruise can't provide but the upscale lines with the support of a seasoned travel agent might be more in line with their wants. It comes with a higher cost but the service should be more in line with the O.P.'s expectations.

[spitfire13]

I just got back from the January 6 sailing on Equinox. My wife phoned Celebrity before we left as she had some questions about speciality dining. While on the phone, the person from Celebrity asked my wife if we were celebrating any special occasion. My wife told them that we were celebrating my birthday during the cruise. Sure enough, as I was ordering dessert in Luminae, the entire team that was waiting us on that night came out with a chocolate cake and wished me a happy birthday. It was well done and a surprise to me. My experience last week is 180 degrees different than the OP's; so much so that we booked a future cruise on board.

[mom says]

I usually try to give new posters the benefit of the doubt. But when all of their posts are negative , I begin to wonder if they are just negative people and can't be pleased. If he approached the ship staff with the same attitude he's shown here, I'm thinking he got back a little of what he was dishing out. Not a professional response, perhaps, but understandable if faced by a belligerent guest.

 

I'm also thinking he is brand new to cruising, otherwise he would have known to go to the MDR as soon as he boarded to try to adjust his dining arrangements and double check the celebration arrangements.. As for the birthday celebration that wasn't- he still hasn't clarified whether or not he paid in advance or if this was something the TA was going to do as a customer gift. If it was the former , then he has a legitimate beef, and should have his TA secure a refund. If the TA promised something and then didn't follow through, then the OP can take it out on him.

 

I suggest in future that the OP do a bit more research in advance of booking any cruise, and find a TA that is more responsive to his needs. Perhaps a luxury line would be able to meet his expectations, but I doubt it.

[garyl62]

Interesting that it's been 11 hours since the OP started this thread, there have been 32 responses and 11 direct questions to the OP, but no responses or additional posts..... What was the purpose of this thread, stirring the pot?

[madcitymaven]

Interesting that it's been 11 hours since the OP started this thread, there have been 32 responses and 11 direct questions to the OP, but no responses or additional posts..... What was the purpose of this thread, stirring the pot?

 

I think you just nailed it!

[WpgCruise]

Interesting that it's been 11 hours since the OP started this thread, there have been 32 responses and 11 direct questions to the OP, but no responses or additional posts..... What was the purpose of this thread, stirring the pot?

 

I think you just nailed it!

 

Maybe the O.P. is on the other side of the world, i.e. Australia, and have other things to do than lurk on this forum.

Maybe the O.P. is expecting more agreement or sympathy than they have received.

Maybe they have realized their expectations were not realistic and that's why they aren't participating.

[Mr&MrsCookie]

I usually try to give new posters the benefit of the doubt. But when all of their posts are negative , I begin to wonder if they are just negative people and can't be pleased. If he approached the ship staff with the same attitude he's shown here, I'm thinking he got back a little of what he was dishing out. Not a professional response, perhaps, but understandable if faced by a belligerent guest.

 

I'm also thinking he is brand new to cruising, otherwise he would have known to go to the MDR as soon as he boarded to try to adjust his dining arrangements and double check the celebration arrangements.. As for the birthday celebration that wasn't- he still hasn't clarified whether or not he paid in advance or if this was something the TA was going to do as a customer gift. If it was the former , then he has a legitimate beef, and should have his TA secure a refund. If the TA promised something and then didn't follow through, then the OP can take it out on him.

 

I suggest in future that the OP do a bit more research in advance of booking any cruise, and find a TA that is more responsive to his needs. Perhaps a luxury line would be able to meet his expectations, but I doubt it.

 

Ditto to this

[QE2_Fan]

The OP's TA is getting a bit of a bad wrap...might be due the style of OP's writing or lack of facts as to the details of what their expectations of advising a special occasion were. The TA may have fully obliged and ticked the same special occasions box that we can if we book online. If so, job done I’d say.

 

If however a package was requested, or TA offered to do something special then I’d see where they are at fault. But I don’t see that info offered at this point.

 

I must admit on our first cruise after a dry (land!) spell of some 20 years we were celebrating my daughters birthday onboard - we had checked the special occasion. Or when booking and advised type of celebration etc. I was EXPECTING cake, champagne, singing and a Card.... we got a tiny cupcake delivered without even a Happy Birthday sung by the crew (due apparently to ongoing complaints from repeat cruise as they heard it too often and disrupted their dining experience [emoji15]).

 

Were we disappointed - well I was, but in the end that was due to my own false expectations from 20 years previously and having not checked or spoken to anyone to determine what was actually done.

 

Did it ruin our cruise, heck no...don’t even think it ruined our dinner! [emoji57]

 

 

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[r4addz]

I believe all lines charge a service fee to use card for chips I know rccl does, same as if you want cash.

 

Why is it people keep telling me this when the point being made was the rude reply from the croupier!

[Cairn Mom]

We made the mistake of taking a balcony cabin in “steerage”- no special class on Celebrity. They treated us like crap. At embarkation, our luggage did not arrive in our room. We called an hour before departure and were told it would get there. We were on for lunch and the ship was departing at 4. Finally, 30 minutes before departure we went down to the desk to complain and there, in the middle of the lobby,was our luggage, with no tags on it. How did that happen,nobody could explain, and no apology was offered.

That’s how the cruise started and it did not improve. We felt that the crew did not care about us. We did not rate. Some of our friends love Celebrity but they travel either Aqua or Concierge class. There are many other cruise lines, so we choose not to travel Celebrity. It is fine with me if you want to give enhanced benefits to people in a higher class of cabin, but you need to provide decent service to the general passengers. OP it is not just you. As others have said, if you went Aqua or Concierge class you probably would have gotten your cake and champagne. We take a regular balcony cabins on Princess or Crystal. When birthdays or Anniversaries fall while we’re away, both lines provide a cake at dinner for our celebration- no extra charge.

 

 

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[r4addz]

Maybe the O.P. is on the other side of the world, i.e. Australia, and have other things to do than lurk on this forum.

 

Got it in one!

[r4addz]

OP, sorry you had so many issues during your cruise.

 

I noticed from your other posts, that you had other issues, sorry about that.

 

I'm thining you gave a big thank you to your server and cabin steward who tried to make your wife's birthday a great day, even though a little late.

 

Thanks for that and yes both servers and the steward were rewarded which is ironic really as Australian passengers are forced to pay Gratuities in advance so we effectively paid twice.

[r4addz]

Let's address another issue we had. we ordered breakfast in the cabin one morning and ordered it for between 08:00 and 08:30, it arrived at 07:45 not a big issue but they were obviously trying to get things out of the way early. Anyway after breakfast we decided to nap for a bit longer and put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. About 1.5 hours later we received a call from room service asking if they could collect the dishes. We assumed they were in the kitchens so wouldn't have seen the DND so agreed. Within 10 seconds there was a knock on the door. What had actually happened was the waitress (or whatever the correct title is) had seen the DND and gone to the nearest service phone to wake us up. We were not impressed. I won't bother telling you what happened when we complained about it because people here seem to just seek to justify the cruise line's position.

 

Oh and for those that have asked, It was the Solstice which departed Sydney on the 21st December 2017

 

Also for those who asked, this was my seventh cruise but the first with Celebrity.

[GottaKnowWhen]

...First we wanted fixed dining but were allocated anytime dining. There is to my knowledge/experience nowhere on the Celebrity website where you can address this issue and so went through my travel agent...

On the Celebrity site, if you go to your reservation, choose Manage My Reservation, it shows what your dining "choice" is currently. A button right there says "Edit." Click the Edit button and change as you see fit. Often the assignments are totally random, and often the attempt to Edit will, at best, be futile. It is what is. Whatever your level of apparent success online, it is wise to stop by the restaurant soon after you have gotten to your cabin and found your dining assignment note. Ask to see the table, ask to verify the seating time. If something is not to your liking, ask to switch. A switch won't happen the first day, so it might be time to book a special deal on a first-night Specialty Restaurant. Or, take a deep breath and enjoy the meal in the MDR at whatever time and location you have been assigned. Some people cannot abide either of these options, and for them the Oceanview buffet is just a few decks above and provides good food.

[GottaKnowWhen]

assumed[/b] they were in the kitchens so wouldn't have seen the DND so agreed. Within 10 seconds there was a knock on the door. What had actually happened was the waitress (or whatever the correct title is) had seen the DND and gone to the nearest service phone to wake us up...

[emphasis added]

So, you made an assumption, and then the server failed to read your mind and so did not know what you were assuming, and you fault the server for your false assumption? Rather than complementing them for promptly showing up as soon as you said it was ok for them to clear? Really?

[gek]

[emphasis added]

So, you made an assumption, and then the server failed to read your mind and so did not know what you were assuming, and you fault the server for your false assumption? Rather than complementing them for promptly showing up as soon as you said it was ok for them to clear? Really?

 

No, the point is that the server knew there was a DND sign and still chose to disturb them by calling them on the phone.

 

Although I've seen much more egregious examples of ignoring a DND sign than this.

[chemmo]

Sometimes a vacation on land or sea can loose its sparkle because of a myriad of small disappointments or issues. Each one would be insignificant on their own but together they take the shine of the whole experience....I think this is what the OP is expressing....

 

Much as we love Celebrity now our very first cruise was a bit like that....a suite we found did not suit us as much as we had thought, an over busy and under staffed Elite cocktail time, issues with OBC involving visits to guest relations who told us not to worry $300 was missing....We were unimpressed with all but the food quality and the general look of the ship...It was a few years before we gave them a second go. I can honestly say we have not had a bad cruise since....

 

I think once one thing goes wrong you are more sensitive (and critical) of other things....

 

Re the birthday...genuinely sorry you did not experience what you expected. I think you have already been given lots of advice for future Cruises...

 

Re the breakfast gathering of plates....I genuinely think the plate collector was just trying to do his job within a time frame.....

[r4addz]

[emphasis added]

So, you made an assumption, and then the server failed to read your mind and so did not know what you were assuming, and you fault the server for your false assumption? Rather than complementing them for promptly showing up as soon as you said it was ok for them to clear? Really?

 

This reply shows the abnormal bias towards "the cruise line can do no wrong" that I am finding here! It is almost not worth posting because those who react in this way will never understand the problems!

 

So let's throw another one into the ring, We went to the cheese (Fromage) counter at the ocean view buffet. There were no crackers so we requested some. Whilst waiting, a manager came to sort out some special orders Not having realised you could special order, we asked if we could order some cheddar and/or Cheshire cheese. The reply floored us "we don't get the good stuff on here"!!!! The crackers when they arrived, although being in a sealed box were doled out one by one and turned out to be soggy so were probably out of date (Soggy crackers in a sealed packet). The next stop we went food shopping for Crackers and Biscuits. First time I have gone food shopping whilst on a cruise! Sad state of affairs!

[Keith1010]

Sorry you had issues on your cruise.

 

Keith

[Presto2]

The last 3 times we sailed on Celebrity we booked Muranos for our wedding anniversary. Each time as soon as thye found that it was our anniversary (we requested a quiet table etc) we got a lovely cake given to us. D

Surely they still have little touches like this.

 

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[Jade13]

The last 3 times we sailed on Celebrity we booked Muranos for our wedding anniversary. Each time as soon as thye found that it was our anniversary (we requested a quiet table etc) we got a lovely cake given to us. D

Surely they still have little touches like this.

 

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They apparently do as someone else posted they went to Muranos (has an additional charge for specialty dining) and received a cake.

 

The OP was in the MDR and has not responded on whether they or their agent paid for a birthday celebration package to get a full cake (not just a slice).

 

 

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[Jade13]

Let's address another issue we had. we ordered breakfast in the cabin one morning and ordered it for between 08:00 and 08:30, it arrived at 07:45 not a big issue

 

Also for those who asked, this was my seventh cruise but the first with Celebrity.

 

 

 

Can you address whether you (or your travel agent) paid for a birthday celebration package including a full cake? I am still not clear.

 

 

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