Disappointed with our first Celebrity Cruise within first 24 hrs

[NLH Arizona]

On 11/26/2018 at 10:49 AM, mdpa said:

I see that I am not dealing with a clear headed person. If they are Celebrity employees they should be able to book any offer the company provides directly. In fact, I’ve read they can also provide Azamara promotions. Soon that may expand to Silversea. 

Now I get the picture.

[broberts]

3 hours ago, Sascol said:

OP states so many issues, yet also states:

 

"tried to book another cruise to take advantage of Black Friday promo."

 

That makes sense!  So miserable you're willing to do it all again.

 

I believe the word used was "disappointed" not "miserable". 

[StolidCruiser]

6 hours ago, mdpa said:

I did want to provide an update. The cruise is getting better each day. Yesterday our cabin steward (Tim, who is very good) followed up on the bathroom issue and my wife even received a call from customer service to make sure we were happy. 

 

Dinners every night have been great. Very personal and attentive service (Cedric, John, and Gardena). We are greeted warmly and our choices have been remembered. For this reason, we have asked for the same table and same time every night and have gotten it so far. 

 

Nice to know that several days in you are finding the experience more and more enjoyable after focusing on your perceived snubs and "cold shoulder" treatment centering primarily around a beverage package misunderstanding.  The amount of time you have spent in the first few days of your vacation running around the ship trying to get someone to "fix" problems and posting your angst here is time you'll never be able to get back.  An excellent point to ponder considering the eventual outcome of your conveyed issues.

 

All in all, you've been given good advice to return to your luxury line of preference and forgo the Celebrity experience in the future.  You'll be certain to get the attention you so richly (and desperately) deserve.

 

[Muffinz]

All cruise lines are different and you can't compare Celebrity to Oceania or Silver sea as they are all different

 

we did our first cruise earlier this year and it was on Solstice - we were so impressed with the service / food / entertainment...etc... it was so good that we booked another one while on board for 2020... in fact we are too scared to try other cruise lines just incase they are not as good as the experience we had with celebrity!

 

 

[ORV]

On ‎11‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 2:45 PM, mdpa said:

Ok, I appreciate the helpful and constructive feedback from many of you. Celebrity seems like a decent value but maybe not the best for us. 

 

I just got done booking an Oceania cruise for our family and my parents for next Summer. I’ll get a chance to see if this works well compared to other inclusive land based options. 

 

No no one needs to interpret this as negative in any other way. I wouldn’t enjoy a luxury hotel in Vegas although many people love that place. I’m thinking the smaller ships will better align with our taste. I would have preferred to cross shop Oceania against Azamara while on the ship but the travel consultant never let me get that far into the conversation. Oh well. 

 

Which Oceania ship did you book? 

[digital_curator]

11 hours ago, mdpa said:

I did want to provide an update. The cruise is getting better each day. Yesterday our cabin steward (Tim, who is very good) followed up on the bathroom issue and my wife even received a call from customer service to make sure we were happy. 

 

Dinners every night have been great. Very personal and attentive service (Cedric, John, and Gardena). We are greeted warmly and our choices have been remembered. For this reason, we have asked for the same table and same time every night and have gotten it so far. 

 

I am glad it is getting better. I know how frustrating it can be when you hit a snag at the beginning of a cruise and you have to waste time and energy trying to get it fixed but we have found that such things are few and far between on Celebrity and they usually do their best to make it right. I hope you continue to have a fun and problem-free cruise!

[Duanerice1]

It's sad that someone is on a cruise and it's bad enough that they have to get on Cruise Critic and tell everyone how bad it is.  We can't do anything about it.  I don't downplay that they are unhappy and who knows, maybe they have a right to be.  But how bad does it have to be to take valuable cruising time complaining on these boards.

 

I'm so sorry this isn't working out, vacations are too valuable to have them ruined like this.  I hope the rest of your vacation is at least acceptable if not fantastic.

[jelayne]

mdpa, I am glad to hear that you are beginning to enjoy your cruise and find it unfortunate that there was a issue with a beverage package and the response from guest services. I would not want that job, particularly on day 1 or 2.

 

I must applaud you for remaining level headed as some responding to this thread have been, IMHO , rather confrontational.  We enjoy our Celebrity cruises, as do most on this forum, I hope when you disembark you can say it’s not our cup of tea but we had a good time.

 

[MizDemeanor]

I agree with jelayane for keeping a level head particularly with those who are hecklers that think that Celebrity is the cat's meow and you should quit mid trip. Make the best of it, its not for everyone and Celebrity may not be for you either after this no matter what.

 

Mighty glad you stayed! 

Edited November 29, 2018 by MizDemeanor

[Reader0108598]

On ‎11‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 3:45 PM, mdpa said:

Ok, I appreciate the helpful and constructive feedback from many of you. Celebrity seems like a decent value but maybe not the best for us. 

 

I just got done booking an Oceania cruise for our family and my parents for next Summer. I’ll get a chance to see if this works well compared to other inclusive land based options. 

 

No no one needs to interpret this as negative in any other way. I wouldn’t enjoy a luxury hotel in Vegas although many people love that place. I’m thinking the smaller ships will better align with our taste. I would have preferred to cross shop Oceania against Azamara while on the ship but the travel consultant never let me get that far into the conversation. Oh well. 

 

 

MPDA

 

 I understood your issue was more with customer service than anything. I hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise! 

 

Reader

[mdpa]

Appreciate everyone that provided constructive feedback and took the time to understand what I was trying to convey. 

 

Some people didn’t seem to understand my initial info was providing a live update on some disappointment and some differences we experienced versus what we are able to research comparing specs. 

 

I won’t respond to all. However just to clarify:

 

- of course I tried to book another cruise while onboard. I was expecting fantastic value and wanted to take advantage of onboard booking promos. Obviously that changed when I couldn’t get reasonable customer support. 

 

- of course we are enjoying our vacation. I always do. Other people dropping the ball don’t effect my happiness. 

 

- restaurant service has been great, coffee bar service has been very good, and we enjoy the buffet 

 

- our room steward and the room overall has been very good. Customer service eventually provided a credit towards a future cruise that we will probably leverage. Especially if we can use towards Amazara or Silversea. 

 

That being said, it is obvious that many fanboys have never been on an all inclusive cruise and I must have ruined their parade since they are normally accustomed to making fun of Carnival. If I actually compared the experiences these people would go into cardiac arrest. 

[1025cruise]

Unfortunately, your future cruise credit will be for Celebrity only.

 

Most cruisers probably have not gone on an all inclusive cruise (I know I haven't), so some of your "early" issues were due to the fact that what we would consider normal behavior was a shock to you. 

 

Enjoy the remainder of your cruise. My wife have only cruised Celebrity once, but definitely are looking forward to going again. 

[Shadow9612]

On 11/27/2018 at 6:58 AM, waterbug123 said:

What it taught me was that when doing something different for the first time, perhaps post and inquire along the lines of "I've sailed on X, Y and Z, but never Q...what should I know that might be different?"  

Excellent advice! 

[kkmiausa]

I applaud you for sharing your experience, positive or negative. We are here to help each other and make sure everyone knows the ins and outs, good and the bad. It doesn't make you a bad person. One thing I want to clear up as it has been stated here so many times and incorrectly that fact is you do not PAY DOUBLE to go on the so called higher luxury lines. I am sure you found with Oceania that it is the different cabin sizes and options you are paying for that affect price, not the add ons like luxury dining venues that are not necessary on Oceania. I disagree that the smaller O ships would be a better fit in that they are the oldest ships in the Oceania line and were formerly Renaissance line vessels bought by Oceania.

 

The O life package offers free internet or usually some shore excursions along with a standard beverage package. The difference with standard beverage package is it is only beer and wine and champagne with your meals and you don't get free beverages at other times or venues.   If you take shipboard credit and the classic beverage package you can take your onboard credit as soon as you check in and go to guest relations and upgrade to the premium beverage package

for something around $25.00 a day. Well worth it. This way you won't be caught off guard.

 

Dining on Riviera is excellent. You will not be disappointed. Red Ginger is excellent as is the Polo. Jacques was not up to par our last trip, but nothing to complain about.  The main dining room is fine as well. You can get lobster sandwiches at the  Grille for lunch.  If you book penthouse level you have the butler and access to the special lounge which is nice as it is easy to pop in there and grab a coffee or snack without having to go to a venue. There is also a large screen tv in there.

 

Right now there is a Caribbean cruise the second week of  January on Oceania Riviera and for those who think it is more than Celebrity compare it to the pricing on the Edge! 

[yorky]

A shame that yet again a thread has a few abusive posts.