Service Failure - Solstice

[cle-guy]

I'm dumbfounded for how my issue of a noisy cabin has been handled during my current B2B SYD-HNL-YVR Cruise on Solstice.

I've updated the S-Class cabin worksheet page as well. Long story short, DO NOT choose 3117, Ocean view cabin.  I have attached a 30 second clip of the noise I recorded, it goes 24/7 unless ship is stoped at dock or anchor, even at speeds as low as 10 kts.  Literally 24/7 at same volume and frequency as my recording taken at 2 in the afternoon.

2nd day in, I went to GS to see what they could do by asking simply  "are there any available cabins I can swap, mine is just so noisy".  I got the initial, "sir ships make noise" excuse before I let them know I'm quite aware of typical noises and how they come and go, but this is never ending.    I was then told, 'we are at full capacity, I'm sorry there is nothing we can do'.  So I let it go.  Luck of the draw I figure.

An hour later, I get a call, magically a cabin is available, still on deck 3, still ocean view.  I check it out wondering who died in the last hour......But it was same location other side of ship, so I would expect the same noises (likely coming from the hull doors below needing a ton of grease as best I can tell).  So I stay.  Few days later, I just can't take it, not being able to fall asleep till complete exhaustion takes over at 5-6am.

I go again to GS, this time I make them listen to my recording.  A few minutes later, after the usual, we are full excuse, yes, another cabin is available, 3101, just a few doors down the hall from my original 3117.  

Wow, we sure had a lot of people die on deck 3 this cruise....  

I'm thankful for the swap, cabin is near silent.  So I let them know well, I am B2B and was assigned Cabin 3117 both legs, so we need to fix that for the next crusie.  They say, sorry sir, we are sold out there's nothing available.  So I pulled out my iPhone and was able to show them that I found a few open cabins, though they are Verandas, however they are priced less than I paid - thinking, wow problem solved.  I put cabin on hold and tell them to do their magic.  "Nothing we can do sir, you will need to cancel and rebook"  I ask about penalties, they say, yes you have to handle any associate penalties.  I'm furious.  Having been lied to on multiple occasions about unavailable cabins.  They finally digress and say OK, but we won't let you have the perks you have so my choice is keep 3117 and perks or lose perks, take a cheaper cabin with no refund of the fare difference and no perks.  Furious turns to livid.  I told them my idea of Modern Luxury is not having to pay extra in order to get a good nights sleep and they have no business selling that cabin to anyone for any reason.  

After an hour or so with my Travel agent on the phone escalating things to 5 levels of supervisors, she finally got someone with the common sense to accommodate me, but not in the cabin I had found on website, there are several more to choose from even.  So thanks to my Travel agent I got the Veranda and kept perks.  I would have been fine even downgrading to an inside.

I just could not believe how little they cared to address the situation, and I had met the couple by chance who had the cabin cruise before me (they doing B2B2B) by chance at Captains club events, and they had similar run around.  I plan to leave a note for that cabin on the next leg to let them know to complain if they find it an issue and "pay it forward".

After all that, not an apology note, no call or follow up from any manager or hotel director, no bottle of wine or anything.

If there were in fact no cabins available, I would have had ZERO issue with any of this, but to be lied to multiple items about availability, without even bothering to check, that's what disgusted me about the lack of service.  Canned excuses and no real attempt to assist, without having to press them on.  How Guest Services does not simply have a handwritten list even of open cabins is beyond my imagination, having worked for hotels for so many years.  You always have a printout of open rooms handy if you have open rooms, or the computer readily will show you.

They literally told me there was no one on the ship who could make the cabin change for me or even "call corporate" to resolve it, I  was on my own.  I said, "really, no GS manager has authority, the Hotel director has no authority and not one of you can take the time to sort it out with corporate on my behalf?    I was quite happy to go back to them after my TA got it sorted and let them know that yes there was a way to resolve it and I got everything I had requested and paid for as I rightly should have.  They seemed stunned.

Currently I can book inside or veranda cabins still on the 2nd leg.  So still today, not sold out.

Anyway, My 1st time on Solstice, hoping the lack of concern is limited to this ship, and not a new trend.  Rest of crusie has been great though I must say.

New Recording.m4a

[vtcruising]

Sorry that you had to spend part of your precious vacation dealing with this. Kudos to you for pushing back, gently at first and then, probably as you continued to lose sleep and patience, standing firm and for your TA for going to bat for you. It amazes me that some guest services people (most I have dealt with are wonderful) just can't see the big picture, especially in this age of social media. A little good will goes a long way.

 

Thanks for posting the info on the cabin sticky.  Hope you can set this aside and enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[mayleeman]

A white noise machine is a great investment for unexpected outside noise. There are also apps for your phone, but watch out for data charges if you get the streaming kind (use wifi).

 

We actually had a Walmart $10 6 inch electric fan on our last cruise. Gave just enough whirring to cover up the unfamiliar ambient noises around our cabin. But the breeze was heavenly. 

[florisdekort]

I’m sorry you were not happy with your original cabin, but it reads to me that a change of cabin was quite quickly offered on the first leg (yet your refused it for 5 days). As for the second leg, as you tried to change (and upgrade) cabins 2 weeks before the cruise, you really should have gone to your travel agent. The ship (any ship) doesn’t get control of the inventory until the day of the cruise and cruise lines (all of them) don’t alter existing bookings made via a travel agent. Sometimes issues become bigger issues (or take much longer to resolve) if we demand them to be resolved outside of the normal channels. 

 

Floris 

[phoenix_dream]

I sympathize with your issue and the way it was handled (or not handled as the case may be).  We had a similar problem on Eclipse a couple years ago I think it was.  It was not noise, but rather a very strong vibration - strong to the point where I had difficulty sleeping and often could not read on my balcony because the room and balcony were vibrating so hard (one of my favorite activities - I take a cruise to relax).  It was not constant, but often enough to be very uncomfortable quite a bit of the time, both in port and at sea.  Guest Relations was worthless.  We complained to them, and they told us it was just how the ships were built and there was nothing they could do.  They also told us numerous people had made the same complaint.

 

At the time we had sailed more than 40 cruises on Celebrity, on all of their ships at the time, and knew it was not normal for a ship to have that much vibration.  In our case, we loved the location of our room, so we did not ask to be moved, but wanted some acknowledgement that something was wrong and hoping it could be fixed.  Got nothing but dismissal.  In the end, we contacted Celebrity after the fact to complain as well, and got some small amount of OBC on our next cruise.  

 

Our experience has been that Guest Relations varies tremendously in how they handle issues.  On some cruises, any issue we've had (and there have not been all that many, but in our 50+ cruises now there have been a few) has been handled extremely well.  On a couple others, we got the same shoddy non-service that you did.  No predicting which ship, as crew changes so much over time.  

[phoenix_dream]

58 minutes ago, florisdekort said:

I’m sorry you were not happy with your original cabin, but it reads to me that a change of cabin was quite quickly offered on the first leg (yet your refused it for 5 days). As for the second leg, as you tried to change (and upgrade) cabins 2 weeks before the cruise, you really should have gone to your travel agent. The ship (any ship) doesn’t get control of the inventory until the day of the cruise and cruise lines (all of them) don’t alter existing bookings made via a travel agent. Sometimes issues become bigger issues (or take much longer to resolve) if we demand them to be resolved outside of the normal channels. 

 

Floris 

If you carefully read his post, he explains why he did not change the first time.  The reason sounds logical to me.  I do agree that getting the TA involved earlier for the 2nd leg would have helped, but it really should not have been necessary IMHO.  

[twodjs]

I'm on your side cle-guy! That is not a typical "unexpected noise". Not cool that the customer service people were not honest with you. They MUST have been aware of the ongoing problem with THAT cabin. They need to fix it or block it from future bookings. Thanks for your post! 

[wrk2cruise]

As I know you are an experienced cruiser with Celebrity did you request the GR manager or HD come inspect your room?  I would have asked if they would be willing to switch cabins!

 

The few times I have had an issue I raised with GR I have never been satisfied with the response (I was never looking for compensation).  Then after not resolving my issue you always get "Is there anything else I can help you with" which infuriates me.

[richsea]

I don’t understand why you didn’t at least check out the replacement room they offered. How could you know there was the same noise in the new room as the old room?

[bonsai3s]

1 hour ago, twodjs said:

I'm on your side cle-guy! That is not a typical "unexpected noise". Not cool that the customer service people were not honest with you. They MUST have been aware of the ongoing problem with THAT cabin. They need to fix it or block it from future bookings. Thanks for your post! 

 

Exactly our thoughts...cle-guy sounds like you are still having a great time...totally agree with twodjs.

Regrettably, Celebrity is perhaps hoping this "noisy" cabin will be booked by a new cruiser who doesn't know any better.  (Many years ago, we once complained of a noisy cabin...the man at GS gave us earplugs. 😆)

[K12Guy]

I'm sorry your experience was so bad, especially with regard to customer service folks who apparently didn't have the interest or authority to do something. I think all the experienced cruisers would look at the location of your stateroom and cringe, honestly, without regard for any savings that might be gained. That said, I will assume you researched the location and chose to take the risk that the stateroom COULDN'T possibly be that bad, right? 😋

 

We choose, very carefully, before we book a stateroom and we are willing (and able) to spend more money for comfort. We once made the mistake of booking an "Owner's Suite" on another cruise line at the front of the ship. Had we not anchored during any port stop we wouldn't have experienced the anchor being dropped at 0500 hours. Not to our sleeping delight, by the way. But, that was just one time and only for fifteen or so minutes. Nothing like what you endured until you were moved.

 

As others have said, please enjoy the remainder of your cruise and try to put this in the past. Forgive, perhaps, but there is no need to forget. Especially the next time you book a stateroom. Maybe upgrade yourself a bit.

[cle-guy]

2 hours ago, richsea said:

I don’t understand why you didn’t at least check out the replacement room they offered. How could you know there was the same noise in the new room as the old room?

They did give me a pass key to the replacement room and went and stood in it, and heard some creeking, though admittedly not quite as bad as my recording I posted here.  I assumed it being the same cabin in the other corridor, it would continue the noise and was not worth the hassle of moving cabins and I might get used to it.  I didn't so I again asked for a move, and got it.

My real issue was with them having ZERO concern for fixing in advance an issue they know exists.  Why would a company that calls itself a Luxury line, would not address in advance a known issue to resolve it is the point.  As another poster said, why don't people have authority to do something.  They could have made those phone calls as easily (actually far easier) than myself or my travel agent to eventually end ip in the same position, but with a satisfied guest, not a dumbfounded one.  I come from Marriott and Hospitality, so perhaps I have higher expectations than most.

[cle-guy]

49 minutes ago, K12Guy said:

I'm sorry your experience was so bad, especially with regard to customer service folks who apparently didn't have the interest or authority to do something. I think all the experienced cruisers would look at the location of your stateroom and cringe, honestly, without regard for any savings that might be gained. That said, I will assume you researched the location and chose to take the risk that the stateroom COULDN'T possibly be that bad, right? 😋

 

I definitely researched using all the various resources out there,  None of them mentioned the noise.  I was aware of Qasar above me, late night music isn't a bother to me, as it ends before 1am typically anyway.  I thought dropping anchor may be an issue being low and forward (it wasn't)

One of my cruise with list items had been a low deck forward cabin near water in hopes of bad weather and waves crashing the windows.  I also have been wanting to do Tahiti or Fiji.   This fit the bill, but sadly all calm seas so far.  Also it was important to me to not change cabins between B2B's, again this cabin fit that bill.  If you knew my past sailing history, you'd know I have NO problem booking a Penthouse or Royal Suite.  I just sailed Edge in a suite 2 weeks prior.   I just wanted a different experience this trip.

[cle-guy]

2 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

Then after not resolving my issue you always get "Is there anything else I can help you with" which infuriates me.

My standard reply to that answer is "Actually, yes, can you find the person in your organization who has the common sense, I'll hold (or wait depending on the case) as you do"

[cle-guy]

5 hours ago, florisdekort said:

I’m sorry you were not happy with your original cabin, but it reads to me that a change of cabin was quite quickly offered on the first leg (yet your refused it for 5 days). As for the second leg, as you tried to change (and upgrade) cabins 2 weeks before the cruise, you really should have gone to your travel agent. The ship (any ship) doesn’t get control of the inventory until the day of the cruise and cruise lines (all of them) don’t alter existing bookings made via a travel agent. Sometimes issues become bigger issues (or take much longer to resolve) if we demand them to be resolved outside of the normal channels. 

 

Floris 

I addressed the 1st swap offer already. In essence, it had same issues.  I was not unhappy with the handling of that part of the dilemma other than the lie I was initially told "nothing available" - but it would not have resolved the 2nd leg of the sailing when I'd have moved back to 3117 again.

I told them I'd take any available cabin, even an Inside one if available - I was not requiring an upgrade for the issue, I was wanting a cabin I could fall asleep in is all.  My issue was that they said NO cabins were available which had I not gone further, I would have accepted as a truthful statement, but magically I found cabins available and the Veranda was actually less cost than what I had paid for with my Ocean view.  

After it was all over, I went checking more websites about the cabin, and found that german site had inside cabins still available.  I would have taken an offer for an inside, but it was the veranda that showed in my initial search in my iPhone so I went with that.  If I can find an available cabin standing in front of them, why were they saying there were no cabins,  they had the same internets as I did. 

I get how ships don't get the manifest early, and how TA reservation need handled one way. the point is the cabin 3117 should be placed out of order and not salable, which does make it a ship-side issue to deal with.

[Bo1953]

On 4/28/2019 at 4:22 AM, cle-guy said:

I'm dumbfounded for how my issue of a noisy cabin has been handled during my current B2B SYD-HNL-YVR Cruise on Solstice.

I've updated the S-Class cabin worksheet page as well. Long story short, DO NOT choose 3117, Ocean view cabin.  I have attached a 30 second clip of the noise I recorded, it goes 24/7 unless ship is stoped at dock or anchor, even at speeds as low as 10 kts.  Literally 24/7 at same volume and frequency as my recording taken at 2 in the afternoon.

2nd day in, I went to GS to see what they could do by asking simply  "are there any available cabins I can swap, mine is just so noisy".  I got the initial, "sir ships make noise" excuse before I let them know I'm quite aware of typical noises and how they come and go, but this is never ending.    I was then told, 'we are at full capacity, I'm sorry there is nothing we can do'.  So I let it go.  Luck of the draw I figure.

An hour later, I get a call, magically a cabin is available, still on deck 3, still ocean view.  I check it out wondering who died in the last hour......But it was same location other side of ship, so I would expect the same noises (likely coming from the hull doors below needing a ton of grease as best I can tell).  So I stay.  Few days later, I just can't take it, not being able to fall asleep till complete exhaustion takes over at 5-6am.

I go again to GS, this time I make them listen to my recording.  A few minutes later, after the usual, we are full excuse, yes, another cabin is available, 3101, just a few doors down the hall from my original 3117.  

Wow, we sure had a lot of people die on deck 3 this cruise....  

I'm thankful for the swap, cabin is near silent.  So I let them know well, I am B2B and was assigned Cabin 3117 both legs, so we need to fix that for the next crusie.  They say, sorry sir, we are sold out there's nothing available.  So I pulled out my iPhone and was able to show them that I found a few open cabins, though they are Verandas, however they are priced less than I paid - thinking, wow problem solved.  I put cabin on hold and tell them to do their magic.  "Nothing we can do sir, you will need to cancel and rebook"  I ask about penalties, they say, yes you have to handle any associate penalties.  I'm furious.  Having been lied to on multiple occasions about unavailable cabins.  They finally digress and say OK, but we won't let you have the perks you have so my choice is keep 3117 and perks or lose perks, take a cheaper cabin with no refund of the fare difference and no perks.  Furious turns to livid.  I told them my idea of Modern Luxury is not having to pay extra in order to get a good nights sleep and they have no business selling that cabin to anyone for any reason.  

After an hour or so with my Travel agent on the phone escalating things to 5 levels of supervisors, she finally got someone with the common sense to accommodate me, but not in the cabin I had found on website, there are several more to choose from even.  So thanks to my Travel agent I got the Veranda and kept perks.  I would have been fine even downgrading to an inside.

I just could not believe how little they cared to address the situation, and I had met the couple by chance who had the cabin cruise before me (they doing B2B2B) by chance at Captains club events, and they had similar run around.  I plan to leave a note for that cabin on the next leg to let them know to complain if they find it an issue and "pay it forward".

After all that, not an apology note, no call or follow up from any manager or hotel director, no bottle of wine or anything.

If there were in fact no cabins available, I would have had ZERO issue with any of this, but to be lied to multiple items about availability, without even bothering to check, that's what disgusted me about the lack of service.  Canned excuses and no real attempt to assist, without having to press them on.  How Guest Services does not simply have a handwritten list even of open cabins is beyond my imagination, having worked for hotels for so many years.  You always have a printout of open rooms handy if you have open rooms, or the computer readily will show you.

They literally told me there was no one on the ship who could make the cabin change for me or even "call corporate" to resolve it, I  was on my own.  I said, "really, no GS manager has authority, the Hotel director has no authority and not one of you can take the time to sort it out with corporate on my behalf?    I was quite happy to go back to them after my TA got it sorted and let them know that yes there was a way to resolve it and I got everything I had requested and paid for as I rightly should have.  They seemed stunned.

Currently I can book inside or veranda cabins still on the 2nd leg.  So still today, not sold out.

Anyway, My 1st time on Solstice, hoping the lack of concern is limited to this ship, and not a new trend.  Rest of crusie has been great though I must say.

New Recording.m4a 182.2 kB · 136 downloads

c - I Am so sorry that you had to endure this, it  is not acceptable..

 

Unfortunately, not many passengers would think to go to the length you have to check it out before blindly accepting the first line mantra... no cabins available. I know I shall were I to be in the same or similar situation where a cabin change is in order.

 

I trust you enjoy the balance of your sailing buddy...

 

All the best and bon voyage

[WpgCruise]

19 hours ago, cle-guy said:

My real issue was with them having ZERO concern for fixing in advance an issue they know exists.  Why would a company that calls itself a Luxury line, would not address in advance a known issue to resolve it is the point.  As another poster said, why don't people have authority to do something.  They could have made those phone calls as easily (actually far easier) than myself or my travel agent to eventually end up in the same position, but with a satisfied guest, not a dumbfounded one.  

The issue for me is summarized above,  ZERO concern,  no interest in fixing the problem to the customers satisfaction, and not prepared to find a solution.   

 

Celebrity years ago was a Premium cruise line but have demonstrated time and time again they are not prepared to manage to customer expectations.  This rush to compete in the mass market has seen some long time clients move their business to the boutique lines at a comparable price point, and a better service level. As long as Celebrity can continue to attract new to the brand clients, at a faster rate than the current run off, they have no incentive to provide better service.

 

Celebrities business model has shifted to the mass market and while in the short term it may provide the required ROE, the competition is snapping at their heels. 

 

I hope the O.P. can put the frustration of their experience behind them, and enjoy the rest of the cruise.  

 

 

Quote

 

 

 

Edited April 29, 2019 by WpgCruise

[AnnaNicole]

We had an inside cabin on Carnival that had the same issue as your cabin (also constant vibration).   It was a last minute guarantee cabin.   Never again.  I went to guest services and received the same treatment.   Ships make noise.   You booked a guarantee.  I offered to pay additional for any other cabin.   Nope.   They weren't budging.     I thought I was going to lose my mind by the end of the cruise.  Lesson learned.

 

(I have been on over 25 cruises.   I have mostly booked veranda cabins, but have booked a few suites, OVs and insides.  I am not picky.  I have heard anchors, waves crashing, etc.  but nothing even remotely like the constant noise and vibration of that cabin.)

 

I have the same issue as you.  The cabin was extremely beyond a normal experience and the cruiseline has to know this, yet they continue to sell the cabin.  

 

I am glad you were able to change your cabin on both trips.   Enjoy your cruises.   🙂

[Lindagop]

I am truely happy that you in working with your travel agent, were able to find a solution for the second leg of your cruise. I think you have absolutely every right to feel the way you do. Regarding the comments some had regarding you should have accepted or considered the first cabin shown to you after the onboard staff tried initially to tell you there was no availability to change, we need to remember the enjoyment which is lost firstly having to deal with this and also the stress involved on which should be a relaxing happy time that you have looked forward to and planned most probably in length and detail. This can really dampen and detract from your holiday. Not to mention stress, the time you have wasted trying to get help.I listened to the audio of the noise and I feel that is enough to make anyone upset having to tolerate this day and night. Greetings and hopefully enjoy the next leg of your cruise.

[SeaHunt]

I also listened to the audio and agree that sound would be super irritating - maybe they need to rename that room the "Woody Woodpecker Suite" as that's exactly what it reminded me of LOL. Rat a tat, rat a tat, ratatatratatat - ugh.

[Nachosdelux]

I have missed your contributions on this board,  Hope your trip improves going forward.

 

Sad that they are not being honest and up front, that is disappointing.

 

 

 

 

[maggie.1008]

Hi Curt, I too have missed your posts on X cruise critic. You must be very close to Zenith. We sail on other lines so we will never make Zenith. Cheers, Heather

[bighairtexan]

Years ago on a Summit TA (very rough seas) I awoke to find my 22 year old DD missing from her bed. At 4AM. And I knew she had on her jammies and was in bed a few hours earlier. I found her. Curled up in the shower (she's 5'6"!!!) trying to sleep b/c she said it was too noisy w/ the creaking and knocking. We were lucky that there was one other interior cabin available that had the bathroom tile being worked on. We didn't care if it has any tile! LOL  They allowed me to book that for her for a very small fee so she moved in there. 

 

SO CURT have you tried sleeping  in the shower? 🤣

 

[Covepointcruiser]

I have had exactly the same noises in ships cabins, especially when we had wood paneling.   On our last voyage we had creeping and banging in our RS.   We used folded paper and washcloths to shore up each area that was making noise.  You should have seem our cabin ceiling with all additions!    We also found that the prior residents had also left folded papers in the ceiling so it was a continuing problem.   I always pack industrial type ear plugs because you never know what annoying sounds you will encounter.   Unfortunately none of them filter out human voices and these can be a problem with connecting cabins.   Good luck on your next leg.   I expect they freed up some rooms by moving the entertainment staff around.   They are usually stuck in the worst cabins.