Such lovely people cruise Celebrity!

[Cruise Raider]

Not about other passengers but the crew / staff have oftentimes gone above and beyond the call of duty.  

One on trip, my DH was celebrating his 60th.  I pulled off the surprise of a lifetime getting him on the cruise when he thought we were traveling to a work conference.  Well, long story short, we were at the bar on the first day of the cruise and talking to some other passengers and the bartender about all my secret planning.  The bartender asked my DH when his actual birthday was, which was the following week.  Moving along to that day, the bartender, which usually was right on the ball, was over at the other end of the bar preparing something, seemingly ignoring us.   Well, when he finally looked up, we got his attention and he walked over with a martini glass, with writing in chocolate on the inside saying 'Happy Birthday' with my DH's name.  He put it down right in front of him and proceeded to pour a chocolate martini into the glass.  I can't even express how special that made my DH feel .. not only did he remember this date from a week prior but also his name.  Wow ... such awesome service!!  

 

Another time, we were invited to the Captain's table for dinner by the Captain's Circle / Club Host.  It was on a dress up night and my DH didn't pack any formal clothes.  We were just going to hit up a specialty restaurant or the buffet. 

What an honor it would be to attend, though ... but we were going to have to turn down the invitation.  Lo and behold, without even knowing his exact size, a perfectly fitting suit showed up at our cabin and my DH looked stunning in it!!  We had such an elegant evening and a memory to last a lifetime!!  

 

So, yes, while other passengers can make or break your cruise experience, the staff has proven to do so as well.  Wow ..how I just love cruising!!  

[cruise kitty]

On 4/26/2019 at 11:52 PM, chemmo said:

In recent weeks Cruise Critic has had two long posts focusing on inappropriate behaviour...Whilst these topics have relevance I don’t think they reflect the general wonderful, kind and thoughtful people that generally cruise Celebrity. One of our main reasons for loving and consistently returning to Celebrity are the people on board.

 

I think all of us would agree that inappropriate behaviour is rare on Celebrity and friendliness and kindness is the norm... So let’s share some kindness stories...

<my snip>

 

What a lovely post.   Thank you :)

[myjillian]

22 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

Not about other passengers but the crew / staff have oftentimes gone above and beyond the call of duty.  

One on trip, my DH was celebrating his 60th.  I pulled off the surprise of a lifetime getting him on the cruise when he thought we were traveling to a work conference.  Well, long story short, we were at the bar on the first day of the cruise and talking to some other passengers and the bartender about all my secret planning.  The bartender asked my DH when his actual birthday was, which was the following week.  Moving along to that day, the bartender, which usually was right on the ball, was over at the other end of the bar preparing something, seemingly ignoring us.   Well, when he finally looked up, we got his attention and he walked over with a martini glass, with writing in chocolate on the inside saying 'Happy Birthday' with my DH's name.  He put it down right in front of him and proceeded to pour a chocolate martini into the glass.  I can't even express how special that made my DH feel .. not only did he remember this date from a week prior but also his name.  Wow ... such awesome service!!  

 

Another time, we were invited to the Captain's table for dinner by the Captain's Circle / Club Host.  It was on a dress up night and my DH didn't pack any formal clothes.  We were just going to hit up a specialty restaurant or the buffet. 

What an honor it would be to attend, though ... but we were going to have to turn down the invitation.  Lo and behold, without even knowing his exact size, a perfectly fitting suit showed up at our cabin and my DH looked stunning in it!!  We had such an elegant evening and a memory to last a lifetime!!  

 

So, yes, while other passengers can make or break your cruise experience, the staff has proven to do so as well.  Wow ..how I just love cruising!!  

So...I'm anxious to find out how did this happen ???? did he get to keep the suit???? Magic 🤗

[Cruise Raider]

2 minutes ago, myjillian said:

So...I'm anxious to find out how did this happen ???? did he get to keep the suit???? Magic 🤗

 

When we called her to thank her and asked her how she'd know if it fit him or not, she said, "I just thought he was about my boyfriend's size" ... so she figured it out all on her own and she was right!!   He looked amazing in that suit but no, we didn't keep it!!  Got some wonderful pictures of him in it, though ... on the house!!  

[myjillian]

1 minute ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

When we called her to thank her and asked her how she'd know if it fit him or not, she said, "I just thought he was about my boyfriend's size" ... so she figured it out all on her own and she was right!!   He looked amazing in that suit but no, we didn't keep it!!  Got some wonderful pictures of him in it, though ... on the house!!  

Oh...it was from the Captains Club host....how nice was that ...I knew you wouldn't keep it...I just got lost k😁nowing where it came from

[flyingv4me]

Our first cruise was to Hawaii on the Millie.  We were going to a luau and my wife was wearing a white orchid printed dress.  As we're leaving the ship a woman who was also going to the luau walks up to Lockie and presents her with a beautiful white orchid for her hair.  She said that such a beautiful woman deserves a beautiful flower!  It matched her dress perfectly and my wife glowed the entire evening!  We saw this woman on other occasions on board and she always seemed to be simply enjoying life to the fullest.  What a lasting impression she made on both my wife and me!

[chemmo]

7 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Thank you, thank you, thank you one and all for your touching posts!

 

I, for one, think it is great that so many of them can be in one place so others will be able to read, readily, the reason many of us take cruises, especially on X. Yet I Am sure many other lines have similar recountances, yet we are X!

 

Guess I will not wear my 'fake' leg cast and neck brace to board our next sailing... throw away those crutches and just be happy that we are surrounded mainly by wonderful, caring people.... including staff. (Nahhh, I already knew this)

 

c - thank you, specifically, for starting this thread. This type of thread does come into existence from time to time when we get heated and hyper-critical elsewhere on CC, from time to time and you have taken many minds off those topics.

 

Kudos to you and all posters and those who have thought about posting and have yet to....

 

Hey all - Bon Voyage!

 

Bo 1953 thanks for posting....heated discussions are not a bad thing!

 

However, somewhere along the line there has to be ‘balance’ where the general experience of most guests is reflected....Hence the start of my post....

 

Like you I am very touched by the posts yet not surprised by them...because, like you, we know we board a ship and will be surrounded by ‘wonderful caring people’.....It is what cruising is all about...

 

Bon Voyage!

 

 

 

[chemmo]

7 hours ago, cruise47 said:

Kudos to all that have posted on this thread.  It is so refreshing to read positive posts about Celebrity cruisers and Celebrity personnel.

 

Agree, I do feel it is important to ‘flag’ good as well as challenging experiences on a board like this....All of us will have times during our travels where things don’t go according to plan or we feel our experiences did not meet expectations but if we don’t voice the positives as well as the negatives we give a distorted image.

 

Hence the start of the thread...

[chemmo]

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

These behavior threads are interesting but really have little to do with Celebrity.  DW and I cruise many different lines (15 to date with a 16th coming up) and have witnessed behavior related incidents on nearly every cruise line ranging from Carnival to Crystal.  There are folks raised by wolves that travel on every ship :(.  Rudeness and bad manners seems to transcend cultures, countries, and cruise lines.  What we do find different, in the past few years, are the increasing number of folks who seem to have no clue as to how to behave and dress in public.   And the reality is that bad taste and behavior is now acceptable because the modern trend is to never be judgmental.   What we find disturbing is that a society without basic rules eventually dissolves into chaos and excess.   

 

Hank

 

Hank, I think all of us would agree with you that following ‘basic rules’ or to word it another way ‘being aware of your fellow cruiser’ make everyone’s life more pleasant....

 

The focus of this post is simply to point out that on most cruise ships most of the time you are more likely to meet with kindness and thoughtfulness rather than bad manners and poor behaviour....

 

The stories related of fellow guests and staff really going ‘above and beyond’ I find both heartwarming and inspiring....

 

 

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

 

What a lovely post.   Thank you 🙂

 

Pleased you are enjoying along with me!

[chemmo]

2 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

When we called her to thank her and asked her how she'd know if it fit him or not, she said, "I just thought he was about my boyfriend's size" ... so she figured it out all on her own and she was right!!   He looked amazing in that suit but no, we didn't keep it!!  Got some wonderful pictures of him in it, though ... on the house!!  

 

Firstly, what a wonderful bar tender! 

 

Then secondly what a wonderful experience to be invited to dine with the Captain and how kind was the Captains Club Host to sort out the suit. I know in this day and age ‘anything goes’ but it is nice to dress for an occasion!

 

 

[chemmo]

2 hours ago, flyingv4me said:

Our first cruise was to Hawaii on the Millie.  We were going to a luau and my wife was wearing a white orchid printed dress.  As we're leaving the ship a woman who was also going to the luau walks up to Lockie and presents her with a beautiful white orchid for her hair.  She said that such a beautiful woman deserves a beautiful flower!  It matched her dress perfectly and my wife glowed the entire evening!  We saw this woman on other occasions on board and she always seemed to be simply enjoying life to the fullest.  What a lasting impression she made on both my wife and me!

 

You know, I honestly think some people are just full of sunshine! Wherever they go they spread happiness and light.

 

I so understand the ‘glow’ of your wife...Both the complement and the thought must have meant a lot to her....

 

People who seem to be ‘enjoying life to the fullest’ seem to take pleasure in ensuring we all do! 

[Cruise Raider]

3 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

Firstly, what a wonderful bar tender! 

 

Then secondly what a wonderful experience to be invited to dine with the Captain and how kind was the Captains Club Host to sort out the suit. I know in this day and age ‘anything goes’ but it is nice to dress for an occasion!

 

 

 

On Celebrity especially, there is one act of kindness after another that have really made our experience extra special!!  I tell the story about the bartender when someone asks if they should try Celebrity.  

And, we believe that an elegant chic nights deserve the respect of the dress code.  We just go elsewhere to dine when we are packing light ... thus, when she made sure we didn't have to decline, that really stood out as going the extra mile!!  She was also one of Captain's Club hosts that made a point of knowing everyone's name up in the elite happy hour / coffee house breakfast event!  EVERYONE'S name!!  WOW!!  

 

[Luvcrusn]

Here's a wonderfully considerate, thoughtful act from a X crewmember. A few years ago somewhere about mid cruise on Connie, I decided to fill out a comment card about a few really special crew members. At the bottom, there is a question asking if there's anything that would make the cruise experience better. I wrote a suggestion that the hairdryers on board that require the button be continually depressed to get airflow were difficult for those passengers with long, thick hair, or with dexterity problems and dropped the card at Guest Services. That cruise we were sailing just DH and I and knew no one else on board. That night, while getting ready for the evening, DH was in the shower and the phone rang. I couldn't imagine who'd be calling. Imagine my surprise when it was the Concierge. She had read my comment card and was following up to say she'd checked all over the ship including the top suites to find only the type of hairdryer I'd mentioned on board. She offered to lend me her personal dryer for the remainder of the cruise! Wow! I thanked her, but said I always bring mine from home and had only suggested it because I thought that the type on board may be difficult for some passengers, but could not believe that my comment had been read, thought about and acted upon. We did make sure to praise her to corporate and thank her personally and also rewarded her thoughtfulness in a more concrete way as well.

[GUT2407]

3 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

Here's a wonderfully considerate, thoughtful act from a X crewmember. A few years ago somewhere about mid cruise on Connie, I decided to fill out a comment card about a few really special crew members. At the bottom, there is a question asking if there's anything that would make the cruise experience better. I wrote a suggestion that the hairdryers on board that require the button be continually depressed to get airflow were difficult for those passengers with long, thick hair, or with dexterity problems and dropped the card at Guest Services. That cruise we were sailing just DH and I and knew no one else on board. That night, while getting ready for the evening, DH was in the shower and the phone rang. I couldn't imagine who'd be calling. Imagine my surprise when it was the Concierge. She had read my comment card and was following up to say she'd checked all over the ship including the top suites to find only the type of hairdryer I'd mentioned on board. She offered to lend me her personal dryer for the remainder of the cruise! Wow! I thanked her, but said I always bring mine from home and had only suggested it because I thought that the type on board may be difficult for some passengers, but could not believe that my comment had been read, thought about and acted upon. We did make sure to praise her to corporate and thank her personally and also rewarded her thoughtfulness in a more concrete way as well.

You fill out the cards or go in person to a supervisor giving praise, good service becomes spectacular service.

[BellKat]

On 4/27/2019 at 4:49 AM, TMLAalum said:

Similar to chemmo's luggage tale except that ours actually was missing the entire cruise and the week prior, our cabin steward Kate, concierge Niko (we weren't in a CC cabin) and numerous roll call members helped us in so many wonderful ways. This was in 2016.

 

Fast forward to our recent Eclipse B2B-  here is just one example of caring fellow cruisers. DH & I took a Celeb excursion in Punta Arenas Chile that was a strenuous hike to a vista point above the city. Every time I sat for a bit to put something in or get something out of my back pack, another tour member would stop to ask if I was ok.

 

 

 

I just found this thread. You were so cool & calm about this whole situation. You endured an entire cruise (& days before) without your luggage. You really impressed me! I know there is no way I could have handled your situation with the grace that you did. I think of you often. Kudos to you! 

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

Here's a wonderfully considerate, thoughtful act from a X crewmember. A few years ago somewhere about mid cruise on Connie, I decided to fill out a comment card about a few really special crew members. At the bottom, there is a question asking if there's anything that would make the cruise experience better. I wrote a suggestion that the hairdryers on board that require the button be continually depressed to get airflow were difficult for those passengers with long, thick hair, or with dexterity problems and dropped the card at Guest Services. That cruise we were sailing just DH and I and knew no one else on board. That night, while getting ready for the evening, DH was in the shower and the phone rang. I couldn't imagine who'd be calling. Imagine my surprise when it was the Concierge. She had read my comment card and was following up to say she'd checked all over the ship including the top suites to find only the type of hairdryer I'd mentioned on board. She offered to lend me her personal dryer for the remainder of the cruise! Wow! I thanked her, but said I always bring mine from home and had only suggested it because I thought that the type on board may be difficult for some passengers, but could not believe that my comment had been read, thought about and acted upon. We did make sure to praise her to corporate and thank her personally and also rewarded her thoughtfulness in a more concrete way as well.

 

I am sure those crew members you praised on the comment card really appreciated you taking the time...

 

It was also really thoughtful of you to raise the issue of the hairdryers. Especially as you had your own (so not actually a problem to you). I can also confirm that the top suites have the same, simply two hard to use hairdryers! Personally I find them awful and just have to resort to drying my hair on the balcony whilst drinking a glass of wine!

 

The response of the concierge is simply everything you want....All to often we can read comments that guest relations or the concierge ‘didn’t care’ when they raised an issue. So nice to have an example of a concierge going above and beyond....

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

You fill out the cards or go in person to a supervisor giving praise, good service becomes spectacular service.

 

Agree...The staff really appreciate you noticing their efforts.

 

When I was cruising on my crutches I would often stop at the restroom outside Michael’s after our meal. The lovely lady in there really looked after me, helping with my handbag and crutches, sorting the door and always greeted me with a smile. I did pass on how much she was helping me and you could tell next time I visited that her supervisor had passed on my praise (a bit obvious I guess, not many guests on crutches!).

 

Whilst saying thank you with a tip is really appreciated, taking the time to see a supervisor or fill in a card can really help staff move on in their careers...

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, BellKat said:

I just found this thread. You were so cool & calm about this whole situation. You endured an entire cruise (& days before) without your luggage. You really impressed me! I know there is no way I could have handled your situation with the grace that you did. I think of you often. Kudos to you! 

 

BellKat, I couldn’t have been so calm either, I did a mall shop the afternoon before our cruise  just in case my then missing cases didn’t make it! 

 

The cool, calm and grace with which some people handle adversity, be it missing suitcases or health issues, is inspirational to us all and certainly puts into perspective some of the minor things that can annoy us.

[TMLAalum]

8 hours ago, BellKat said:

I just found this thread. You were so cool & calm about this whole situation. You endured an entire cruise (& days before) without your luggage. You really impressed me! I know there is no way I could have handled your situation with the grace that you did. I think of you often. Kudos to you! 

 

Thank you so much for your kind words! That was such a great cruise thanks to the great Cruise Critic roll call members including you & Jim for sure!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

14 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

Agree...The staff really appreciate you noticing their efforts.

 

Whilst saying thank you with a tip is really appreciated, taking the time to see a supervisor or fill in a card can really help staff move on in their careers...

 

We had a fun assistant waiter one time on a cruise who mentioned that he wanted to become a waiter.  We all (table of eight) filled out comment cards saying how good he was.  Sure enough, the next cruise we saw him, he smilingly informed us he had been promoted to waiter.  We happened to have a rare bad waiter on that cruise and needed to get a birthday cake for one of our tablemates.  Went and found our old friend and he was happy to take care of it for us.  He got more good reviews AND the extra tips which would normally have gone to our regular waiter.

 

I've had others tell me that the good comments earned them extra time off and they greatly appreciated them.  Only takes a few moments to drop a note to the hotel director and means a lot to the crew members.  The comment cards don't seem to be as readily available as they used to be, so I just get a supply of stationery and envelopes from Guest Relations.  Also works for thank you notes to the crew with their extra tips.

[jelayne]

On ‎4‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 11:40 AM, myjillian said:

So...I'm anxious to find out how did this happen ???? did he get to keep the suit???? Magic 🤗

 

We had a similar invite when there were still "formal" nights.  We didn't have any dressy attire (suit, cocktail dress, etc).

We too had a tux delivered for DH.  I went in a inexpensive black jersey dress - quite underdressed compared to the ladies at the table who had beaded gowns.  We had a great time and no the tux was picked up the next. day.

[chemmo]

13 hours ago, jelayne said:

 

We had a similar invite when there were still "formal" nights.  We didn't have any dressy attire (suit, cocktail dress, etc).

We too had a tux delivered for DH.  I went in a inexpensive black jersey dress - quite underdressed compared to the ladies at the table who had beaded gowns.  We had a great time and no the tux was picked up the next. day.

 

I can outdo you for being underdressed at the Captains Table! I went with one dress shoe and one enormous orthopaedic boot!

 

 

[TeeRick]

This is a nice thread and full of positive stories.  So refreshing.  I am very glad that some are also sharing positive stories about the crew as well.  IMO the crew is generally awesome pretty much every day on every Celebrity ship that I have sailed.

[Mike981]

Sitting in the hot tub with my friend having some beverages while our wives were exploring the ship. Out of the blue he asks, "hey what time is it?" So I tell him and he looks at me and says, "we got to go NOW. I forgot I booked the two of us at the wine tasting." We find our wives and tell them. I ask about dress code and he tells me that it is casual.
We get to the event and everyone is dressed up. We, are in swim suites and silly t-shirts with flipflops. The sommelier who I had met the day before (great guy) is walking around explaining the wine tasting. As he passes by our table, he leans over and says to me, "nice of you to get so dressed up." And then punches me playfully on the shoulder.  He continued to tease me through the event.