Where oh where has my Celebrity gone

[hcat]

2 hours ago, doghog said:

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Haven't seen pen and paper in cabins for a very long time. Even pre-covid. At least in traditional balconies (S&$M class) and DPV (E class). Last cruise I needed a pen the CC host gave me one. It looked like it was made from the empty toilet paper roll cylinder. But it worked. We always take our own hair products no matter the cruise line. My wife claims there's no difference between the soap, conditioner and shampoo. We always request bar soap for the shower as well as the sink. 

 

 

We were in AQ on Ascent. we had the writing .pad  on a leather base with the "no sharpen" pencil on a nightstand.. Our attendant used our pen for notes.  

 

We got 2  of the cylinder pens at  Guest Rel for grandsons  ( they fall apart easily)   Also got  2 sets of Sudoku puzzles and X words..Got 2 decks of cards last time .. 

 

Bring our own shampoo/ cond and ask for bar soap..  Do not like the cannisters but yse a few squirts of the body cream.   

 

We also had the heavy robes removed( no space and too bulky)  We  share a  light weight one.. was not the waffle but a soft material..

 

We had nothing but the most attentuve and intuitive cabin service.

[D. B.]

We/I sail mostly on Celebrities older M and S class ships.

 We find waiters that have sailed on them for Years and when we ask why they had not ask for contracts on the Edge class ships the reply was that they Like serving the same guests at their table and being able to give the service we expect.

 That and also the loss of potential  end of cruise tips that they May get from guests who appreciate a server who remembers their personal preferences (for us it's an extra glass of Ice. Lemon for the water and my wife's favorite brand of Tea) every night.

 On the edge class ships you seldom eat at the same table and could be in any of the 4 restaurants so that personal connection is lost.

 OK so I'm Old and like that interchange with the staff.

[Canadianhey!]

Part 2 of review

First let me say I totally agree with  D.B. with the waiters having a hard time getting to know their clients. As in my previous post we did find one that did get to know us even though we only spent one night with them. So these two proved it is doable. But yes I believe it is much hard.

Now on with the rest:

Celebrity App: It just sucks. One of our excursions got cancelled, so I popped down to the excursion desk are asked to be moved to the shark excursion. I was told that they didn't have an excursion like that, guess they should of told the app. I miss the interactive tv for the excursions (never thought I would say that). We were told lots to swipe up to refresh. I think Celebrity app is similar to their website - needs a lot of work. You soon learnt not to believe the app.

 

Excursions: Our Belize snorkeling trip got cancelled the day before. I believe they cancelled it to early. The day in Belize was fine. Water was not rough. Half hour tender ride was not rough. Many of us sat on shore at a bar wondering why water sport was cancelled. There was little choices available from the ship to pick another excursion. Many unhappy people on board that day.

 

Entertainment: They seem to have lots of technical difficulties. One show after 20 minutes of technical difficulties we left to find other things to do.  Two other times in the Eden things were slowed due to technical difficulties. Not sure how many roving entertainment singers they had but it seemed that everywhere we where it was the same 2 people. Shows were good as usual, no complaints. If you showed up at the theater 20 mins early, you weren't getting a seat without a real search. It seemed to me that the theater was smaller than other ship, but might be just the way I saw it.

 

Stateroom: We stay in a Sunset room. Got a bit of noise coming from the Eden which was right under us but nothing to really bother a person. Room was huge and lots of closet room. As we have never stayed in a Sunset stateroom I can't compare it to any other ship. Touch control lighting is very nice. I washed the railing everyday due to soot being collected on it. Gave up on my stateroom attendant doing it so did it myself.

 

In closing I found the staff not as friendly or as happy as the other ships. Maybe they just have to many things to handle but it seemed like they just didn't have time for you. Maybe the many cuts Celebrity has made over the years is finally catching up with them.

 

I have always loved Celebrity but I am now one of the people that will look at other cruise lines as alternative to Celebrity. I always believed that by paying a premium price for a cruise I was getting premium service. 

 

 

[Germancruiser]

Change is the only constant I have read once- very true. Sadly not always for the better. X- has kind of " watered down " their product- still a great cruise experience though- so I return for the occaisional voyage to X- sailing mostly Cunard these days.

[NMTraveller]

15 minutes ago, Germancruiser said:

Change is the only constant I have read once- very true. Sadly not always for the better. X- has kind of " watered down " their product- still a great cruise experience though- so I return for the occaisional voyage to X- sailing mostly Cunard these days.

I looked at the Cunard itineraries.  It looked like they had a bunch of sea days and few port days?  Is that accurate or am I looking in the wrong place?  Anyways I want to try Cunard.

[realnice46]

4 hours ago, hcat said:

We were in AQ on Ascent. we had the writing .pad  on a leather base with the "no sharpen" pencil on a nightstand.. Our attendant used our pen for notes.  

 

We got 2  of the cylinder pens at  Guest Rel for grandsons  ( they fall apart easily)   Also got  2 sets of Sudoku puzzles and X words..Got 2 decks of cards last time .. 

 

Bring our own shampoo/ cond and ask for bar soap..  Do not like the cannisters but yse a few squirts of the body cream.   

 

We also had the heavy robes removed( no space and too bulky)  We  share a  light weight one.. was not the waffle but a soft material..

 

We had nothing but the most attentuve and intuitive cabin service.

We too have heavy robes removed we bring our own lightweight robes. Also bring my ow shampoo, conditioner and bar soap. I just like my own product. Now I will add some wastebasket liners. We also have wooden hangers removed they just take up too much space.

[Germancruiser]

Sea days are Cunard´s forte- I would say. They have the best lecturers and esp. those long sea days on a Transatlantic- nothing better, esp. for those who have been to many ports and enjoy the tranquility and charme of a bygone era, which one finds with Cunard.

There a port intensive voyages, too, of course- but I avoid them these days.

I am a big fan of their Prommenade Decks- all of the Cunarders have them- with the exception of Queen Anne- not yet in Service- of course.

[TheHawk1]

There is another Apex review on the boards now, from the same cruise I believe. They seem to have had a more positive vacation than you, so I hope theirs is closer to my own trip when I board Apex in two weeks.

I found it interesting you focused on the interaction with your wait staff rather than the food itself? Personally, I don’t care whether I develop a relationship with crew members. Sure, it’s helpful if they know your drink order or coffee preferences after night two, but it won’t make or break my dining experience. I’d much rather the food be good and I get in and out in a timely fashion, so I can spend my evening doing other things. 

 

 

[NMTraveller]

14 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

There is another Apex review on the boards now, from the same cruise I believe. They seem to have had a more positive vacation than you, so I hope theirs is closer to my own trip when I board Apex in two weeks.

 

I believe that the other cruiser was in a suite.  Perhaps that is the solution.  Spend more money 😁

[Canadianhey!]

5 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

There is another Apex review on the boards now, from the same cruise I believe. They seem to have had a more positive vacation than you, so I hope theirs is closer to my own trip when I board Apex in two weeks.

I found it interesting you focused on the interaction with your wait staff rather than the food itself? Personally, I don’t care whether I develop a relationship with crew members. Sure, it’s helpful if they know your drink order or coffee preferences after night two, but it won’t make or break my dining experience. I’d much rather the food be good and I get in and out in a timely fashion, so I can spend my evening doing other things. 

 

 

I found the food is good, just not as much variety as they use to have. I am not a big foodie so as long as it has taste I am happy. As I previously stated Desert is the best up in the buffet.

[leafsnation]

Best deserts are the cakes at the coffee shop! After the first show we stop there for coffee and desert!

Bob

[CruisingTheWaves]

11 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

There is another Apex review on the boards now, from the same cruise I believe. They seem to have had a more positive vacation than you, so I hope theirs is closer to my own trip when I board Apex in two weeks.

I found it interesting you focused on the interaction with your wait staff rather than the food itself? Personally, I don’t care whether I develop a relationship with crew members. Sure, it’s helpful if they know your drink order or coffee preferences after night two, but it won’t make or break my dining experience. I’d much rather the food be good and I get in and out in a timely fashion, so I can spend my evening doing other things. 

 

 

The other review I found they were not in a suite, they were in an IV room so they did not have suite perks. Not sure if there's another review posted from someone in a suite, if there is I haven't found it.

 

I can say that one of the things my husband and I have always liked about cruising was getting to know some of the crew. We have become Facebook friends with several. COVID changed so much of that, and I am not sure any of the crew we once knew are sailing anymore, but our last sailing on Edge pre COVID our waiter in Luminae was the same waiter we had 6 years before on Reflection when we were sailing with friends. He expected us on board and went out of his way to make sure he was taking care of us. It was really great to see him again. There was another bartender we know in Eden and he sent another crew member to search for us on board because he knew we were on that sailing. When you get to know crew, it can sometimes be beneficial for future sailings. We also enjoy talking to them because their backgrounds and culture can be so different from ours, it can help make the trip more interesting and enjoyable. I definitely care if I am enjoying the dish in front of me too, but if we have a good relationship with those serving us, I find they will take care of any issues in the blink of an eye and do it with a smile. I know they should anyway, but it does help if you are personable and kind with those serving.

[ldubs]

14 hours ago, Canadianhey! said:

Part 2 of review

First let me say I totally agree with  D.B. with the waiters having a hard time getting to know their clients. As in my previous post we did find one that did get to know us even though we only spent one night with them. So these two proved it is doable. But yes I believe it is much hard.

Now on with the rest:

Celebrity App: It just sucks. One of our excursions got cancelled, so I popped down to the excursion desk are asked to be moved to the shark excursion. I was told that they didn't have an excursion like that, guess they should of told the app. I miss the interactive tv for the excursions (never thought I would say that). We were told lots to swipe up to refresh. I think Celebrity app is similar to their website - needs a lot of work. You soon learnt not to believe the app.

 

Excursions: Our Belize snorkeling trip got cancelled the day before. I believe they cancelled it to early. The day in Belize was fine. Water was not rough. Half hour tender ride was not rough. Many of us sat on shore at a bar wondering why water sport was cancelled. There was little choices available from the ship to pick another excursion. Many unhappy people on board that day.

 

Entertainment: They seem to have lots of technical difficulties. One show after 20 minutes of technical difficulties we left to find other things to do.  Two other times in the Eden things were slowed due to technical difficulties. Not sure how many roving entertainment singers they had but it seemed that everywhere we where it was the same 2 people. Shows were good as usual, no complaints. If you showed up at the theater 20 mins early, you weren't getting a seat without a real search. It seemed to me that the theater was smaller than other ship, but might be just the way I saw it.

 

Stateroom: We stay in a Sunset room. Got a bit of noise coming from the Eden which was right under us but nothing to really bother a person. Room was huge and lots of closet room. As we have never stayed in a Sunset stateroom I can't compare it to any other ship. Touch control lighting is very nice. I washed the railing everyday due to soot being collected on it. Gave up on my stateroom attendant doing it so did it myself.

 

In closing I found the staff not as friendly or as happy as the other ships. Maybe they just have to many things to handle but it seemed like they just didn't have time for you. Maybe the many cuts Celebrity has made over the years is finally catching up with them.

 

I have always loved Celebrity but I am now one of the people that will look at other cruise lines as alternative to Celebrity. I always believed that by paying a premium price for a cruise I was getting premium service. 

 

 

 

I don't like that things went wrong for you.  I do like the that you shared issues very objectively.  

[doghog]

20 hours ago, hcat said:

We were in AQ on Ascent. we had the writing .pad  on a leather base with the "no sharpen" pencil on a nightstand.. Our attendant used our pen for notes.  

 

Must be the line in the sand who gets and doesn't. Or ship specific. 

Edited February 19 by doghog

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 2/18/2024 at 11:28 AM, Canadianhey! said:

So whether it was our attendant fault or Celebrity not sure.  Only 2 makeup wipes supplied, never given any more.

Celebrity provides makeup remover wipes??????????

Wow.

On 2/18/2024 at 11:28 AM, Canadianhey! said:

Shampoo, conditioner, and lotion are now in large containers not individual. I have hair that is down to my waist and the first night I found out that the shampoo didn't lather up at all. First port I went and bought shampoo and conditioner.

Good to know.  We always bring our own anyway, so we don't have to buy it in port if we don't like the provided stuff. Plus, my kid breaks out in hives from unfamiliar products, so it's safer to use our own.

Edited February 19 by Itchy&Scratchy

[ScottC4746]

On 2/18/2024 at 8:28 AM, Canadianhey! said:

Just finished an Apex cruise on Feb 10th.  First the good things. Beautiful ship, embarkment and departure a breeze. I  never thought that there was a problem with that anyway, but now super easy (as long as you are sort of tech savy).

 

Food: Variety of options definitely declined but food taste is good. First night we had reservations for 6 pm, but the line up was a quarter of the way down the ship. An officer came by and told us that we could go to another restaurant without the line up. He said 80% of the menu was the same, so that is what we did. Moved from the Cosmopolitan to the Cyprus. Reservations apparently mean nothing now. Many complaints through the cruise from people waiting for tables eventhough they had reservations.  Took us 40 minutes from the time we ordered desert til it was brought to us. From then on we would skip desert and just run up to the buffet and grab it. Desert in the buffet is the best. 

 

Only in 1 restaurant did we find the old Celebrity staff. Rometerio and Rama took the time to chat. All other restaurants you where treated like if you went out in your home town for a meal. Order, eat and get out. Rometerio explained the menu, asked how your day was, what you did, etc. (Remember those days). It also was the only time we didn't have to ask for a pepper shaker that wasn't empty. These two gentlemen are amazing. Almost put my faith back into Celebrity.

 

I wish they would band cell phone during meals. We spent 4 nights of the trips either listening to Tik Tok videos, or video chats from tables 6 inches away from us. Just my personal preference of course.

 

Stateroom: So whether it was our attendant fault or Celebrity not sure. No pen or pad of paper, or laundry form in the room. Only 2 makeup wipes supplied, never given any more. Stateroom gentlemen was pretty much non existent. He did bring us our requested ice and water twice a day. I asked him for some garbage bags for the can in the room and was told that Celebrity doesn't use them anymore. The statement people are expected to disinfect them on a daily basis. Shampoo, conditioner, and lotion are now in large containers not individual. I have hair that is down to my waist and the first night I found out that the shampoo didn't lather up at all. First port I went and bought shampoo and conditioner. The lotion was fine. If I had any questions I would go find another stateroom attendant as mine never seem to be around.

 

I will carry on the rest of my review tomorrow.

I will just comment this, many cruises and land based hotels are going away from travel size bottles to wall mounted.  It is much greener.

I did notice the same thing in 2022 with shower gel and shampoo, but it is marine biodegradable stuff to be easier on the ocean.  Even the toilet paper is not the quality I would buy but it is septic tank marine quality stuff they use.

[TheHawk1]

3 hours ago, CruisingTheWaves said:

The other review I found they were not in a suite, they were in an IV room so they did not have suite perks. Not sure if there's another review posted from someone in a suite, if there is I haven't found it.

Yes, that is the one I was referring to.  Coincidentally, both reviewers seem to be Canadian, so you would think they would be easy-going about everything, as we're all so gosh darn polite 😄

[NMTraveller]

3 hours ago, CruisingTheWaves said:

The other review I found they were not in a suite, they were in an IV room so they did not have suite perks. Not sure if there's another review posted from someone in a suite, if there is I haven't found it.

 

OK.  So they called it a IV suite.  Perhaps leading to the confusion.  🤣  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

25 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

Yes, that is the one I was referring to.  Coincidentally, both reviewers seem to be Canadian, so you would think they would be easy-going about everything, as we're all so gosh darn polite 😄

Some Canadian are A$$e$ 🤣

[jmdlv1]

17 hours ago, Canadianhey! said:

Part 2 of review

First let me say I totally agree with  D.B. with the waiters having a hard time getting to know their clients. As in my previous post we did find one that did get to know us even though we only spent one night with them. So these two proved it is doable. But yes I believe it is much hard.

Now on with the rest:

Celebrity App: It just sucks. One of our excursions got cancelled, so I popped down to the excursion desk are asked to be moved to the shark excursion. I was told that they didn't have an excursion like that, guess they should of told the app. I miss the interactive tv for the excursions (never thought I would say that). We were told lots to swipe up to refresh. I think Celebrity app is similar to their website - needs a lot of work. You soon learnt not to believe the app.

 

Excursions: Our Belize snorkeling trip got cancelled the day before. I believe they cancelled it to early. The day in Belize was fine. Water was not rough. Half hour tender ride was not rough. Many of us sat on shore at a bar wondering why water sport was cancelled. There was little choices available from the ship to pick another excursion. Many unhappy people on board that day.

 

Entertainment: They seem to have lots of technical difficulties. One show after 20 minutes of technical difficulties we left to find other things to do.  Two other times in the Eden things were slowed due to technical difficulties. Not sure how many roving entertainment singers they had but it seemed that everywhere we where it was the same 2 people. Shows were good as usual, no complaints. If you showed up at the theater 20 mins early, you weren't getting a seat without a real search. It seemed to me that the theater was smaller than other ship, but might be just the way I saw it.

 

Stateroom: We stay in a Sunset room. Got a bit of noise coming from the Eden which was right under us but nothing to really bother a person. Room was huge and lots of closet room. As we have never stayed in a Sunset stateroom I can't compare it to any other ship. Touch control lighting is very nice. I washed the railing everyday due to soot being collected on it. Gave up on my stateroom attendant doing it so did it myself.

 

In closing I found the staff not as friendly or as happy as the other ships. Maybe they just have to many things to handle but it seemed like they just didn't have time for you. Maybe the many cuts Celebrity has made over the years is finally catching up with them.

 

I have always loved Celebrity but I am now one of the people that will look at other cruise lines as alternative to Celebrity. I always believed that by paying a premium price for a cruise I was getting premium service. 

 

 

I have to agree about the staff friendliness on the Apex.

We have been on five different Celebrity ships in the last 2.5 years and it seemed like the Apex crew was less warm and friendly than the others.Seems like a cultural thing to me. 

[NMTraveller]

The Millenium has the most friendly staff IMHO.  We met several before we were on the ship waiting for customs ...

[ArgoNereus]

8 hours ago, leafsnation said:

Best deserts are the cakes at the coffee shop! After the first show we stop there for coffee and desert!

Bob

I find all the deserts too dry for my taste.

Edited February 19 by ArgoNereus

[Lastdance]

I have been on two Apex cruises; one in Europe and a TA.  Both were great, so I have booked two more in Europe with one of those a TA.  I have never had a bad cruise in Europe, especially after being on so many different itineraries, some even twice.  One cruise is 11 days  in an SV, the TA in a suite.  We will most likely participate in MoveUp, if the opportunity cost is good.  The price for the European cruise, in a suite, was way too much, IMHO, but the TA was  much more reasonable.  I absolutely love the aft, looking at the wake in a chair because

Celebrity took away the loungers!  🤪   We are also doing a comparison cruise/TA on Oceania; Miami to Portugal, so will compare the two TA’s, as fairly, as possible for future bookings.  This will be my first time doing Europe twice in the same year, in the spring, and in the fall!😀

Edited February 19 by Lastdance

[goofysmom99]

44 minutes ago, ArgoNereus said:

I find all the deserts too dry for my taste.

Good one.  

[Germancruiser]

I did the Maiden Voyage on Apex, right after Covid - an unforgetable experience- it was not only the Maiden Voyage but also the first ship in Europe ( X) to restart after 2 years - almost - with no cruises at all. I loved my SV cabin- I would never book any other cabin ( except for a Suite of course- but I like the REAL balcony cabin. I asked the cabin stewart if he could provide me with a  lounger, which he did.

So I am pretty sure Hawk 1 that you will like you Apex- experience.