Live from the reflection

[High on the Seas]

Found out from the crew that Celebrity has booked some large groups on this ship, one in excess of 800 people. This is causing some real headaches for other passengers as venues like the Sky Lounge are closed for special events every day causing crowding in other public spaces. These same groups come in mass to the casino and the bars and are making it difficult if not impossible for all passengers to enjoy the whole ship. I feel bad for many of the crew also when hundreds show up to a bar at the same time. They just can’t get caught up.  If we had known we certainly would have looked at other options. Anyone else run into this?

[gold1953]

4 minutes ago, High on the Seas said:

Found out from the crew that Celebrity has booked some large groups on this ship, one in excess of 800 people. This is causing some real headaches for other passengers as venues like the Sky Lounge are closed for special events every day causing crowding in other public spaces. These same groups come in mass to the casino and the bars and are making it difficult if not impossible for all passengers to enjoy the whole ship. I feel bad for many of the crew also when hundreds show up to a bar at the same time. They just can’t get caught up.  If we had known we certainly would have looked at other options. Anyone else run into this?

It happens regularly. Your comment of 'Celebrity booked'   would be 'a travel agent booked'  or a ' group booked' . These groups bring money as most are priced with all included. Cruises are open to any group and it is not fun for those not in the group when it is that large. Not having use of the Sky Lounge would be a no go for me

[High on the Seas]

4 minutes ago, gold1953 said:

It happens regularly. Your comment of 'Celebrity booked'   would be 'a travel agent booked'  or a ' group booked' . These groups bring money as most are priced with all included. Cruises are open to any group and it is not fun for those not in the group when it is that large. Not having use of the Sky Lounge would be a no go for me

You are correct on the booking verbiage. Still working on my first cup of coffee. The Sky Lounge was always the place my wife and I could go to relax and enjoy the panoramic views.  Over the years it has decreased in size for suites but we still enjoy going. We have seen the venue close on occasion over the years but never this much on an ongoing basis. Went up to have my coffee there yesterday at 8:00 and couldn’t get in. 

[gold1953]

8 minutes ago, High on the Seas said:

You are correct on the booking verbiage. Still working on my first cup of coffee. The Sky Lounge was always the place my wife and I could go to relax and enjoy the panoramic views.  Over the years it has decreased in size for suites but we still enjoy going. We have seen the venue close on occasion over the years but never this much on an ongoing basis. Went up to have my coffee there yesterday at 8:00 and couldn’t get in. 

We love the Sky lounge as well and on a regular cruise it usually closes only for Captains Club events. It is the perfect venue  for morning coffee. I would be contacting Celebrity to say that you did not get what you paid for. I have bene on cruises with over 400 in a group but never 800

[High on the Seas]

For anyone traveling to Grand Cayman in the future all bars on the ship except for the pool bar are closed when the ship is tendered. I’ll be in line early for my mudslide. 

[hcat]

A group of 800 is huge..do you know what group it is? They take things over en masse.

 

  I would  make a complaint..esp if you are excluded from certain areas regularly..Maybe get some OBC you could use for Specialty dining

[High on the Seas]

10 minutes ago, hcat said:

A group of 800 is huge..do you know what group it is? They take things over en masse.

 

  I would  make a complaint..esp if you are excluded from certain areas regularly..Maybe get some OBC you could use for Specialty dining

They are travel agents. The private event sign says “Make Your Mark”. 

[High on the Seas]

Busy day at the Cayman Islands. NCL, MSC, and Disney are here also. 

[Harborgirl246]

2 hours ago, High on the Seas said:

They are travel agents. The private event sign says “Make Your Mark”. 

Found this online.

[PTC DAWG]

I have a neighbor on this cruise, comped by the casino, they are not big gamblers. He called me from the Sunset Bar embarkation day, said it seemed really full..will be interesting to hear his take on it. 

[hcat]

4 hours ago, High on the Seas said:

They are travel agents. The private event sign says “Make Your Mark”. 

Complain now at Guest Rel..or via the computer code!   They are probably  catering to them in all venues to boost sales. 

 

We once had a  delayed boarding while X had a  pre boarding luncheon for travel agents who keft hefire sailaway... we got extra OBC for the delay!

[markincanada]

Thanks for providing information.  I do have a few questions for our upcoming April cruise on Reflection.  We are also Aqua class.

 

• What do people appear to wear to Blu at night.  We are trying to limit what we bring.
• How crowded is Blu at night.  Are there waits to get seated
• What is your favourite place to chill and enjoy?

 

Thanks again.

[High on the Seas]

49 minutes ago, markincanada said:

Thanks for providing information.  I do have a few questions for our upcoming April cruise on Reflection.  We are also Aqua class.

 

• What do people appear to wear to Blu at night.  We are trying to limit what we bring.
• How crowded is Blu at night.  Are there waits to get seated
• What is your favourite place to chill and enjoy?

 

Thanks again.

It has been a casual dress atmosphere. I have worn dockers and a polo shirt every night with no issue. Some are wearing dressier outfits. I haven’t seen people wearing jeans or athletic shoes. I would say peak eating hours have been 6:30 to 7:30 and you will most likely encounter at least a short wait at peak times.  I like to sit up in the sky lounge during the day. If there are no events going on, you can sit back and just enjoy the view through the panoramic windows. 

[High on the Seas]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Complain now at Guest Rel..or via the computer code!   They are probably  catering to them in all venues to boost sales. 

 

We once had a  delayed boarding while X had a  pre boarding luncheon for travel agents who keft hefire sailaway... we got extra OBC for the delay!

I talked to somebody at the guest relations desk, and They were not helpful at all. All they would do is apologize and say that the venue would be more open in the days to come. I escalated to a manager and she refused to do anything only admitting the venues are sometimes closed for special events on occasion and that I should look for other places to go to on the ship. At this point, I’m going to write a letter to corporate, but I’ll be off the ship in a few days and it will be too late to have the problem addressed while I’m still on board. I have been on over 20 celebrity cruises, and the service over the last several has gone consistently downhill.  If this is how they are going to treat their individual customer base and give preferential treatment to large groups. It’s time to move on. I hope any of the people with future cruises do not run into the same set of problems that my wife and I are having. 

[hcat]

3 minutes ago, High on the Seas said:

I talked to somebody at the guest relations desk, and They were not helpful at all. All they would do is apologize and say that the venue would be more open in the days to come. I escalated to a manager and she refused to do anything only admitting the venues are sometimes closed for special events on occasion and that I should look for other places to go to on the ship. At this point, I’m going to write a letter to corporate, but I’ll be off the ship in a few days and it will be too late to have the problem addressed while I’m still on board. I have been on over 20 celebrity cruises, and the service over the last several has gone consistently downhill.  If this is how they are going to treat their individual customer base and give preferential treatment to large groups. It’s time to move on. I hope any of the people with future cruises do not run into the same set of problems that my wife and I are having. 

Hotel Director?  Cruise Director?

[High on the Seas]

3 hours ago, Harborgirl246 said:

Found this online.

Thanks for the info Harborgirl246. 

[High on the Seas]

1 minute ago, hcat said:

Hotel Director?  Cruise 

1 minute ago, hcat said:

Hotel Director?  Cruise Director?

Guest relations Maanager

[High on the Seas]

54 minutes ago, High on the Seas said:

 

I just mailed Laura Hodges-Bethge. Catering to travel agents who can bring them future business is obviously much more important than individual customer concerns. 

[Gaynors]

So sorry for your experience.  It is not fair that such a large group can affect the "regular" paying customers experience.

 

We board her Saturday I really hope we don't have that same issue.

[hcat]

On 2/27/2024 at 10:17 AM, High on the Seas said:

Busy day at the Cayman Islands. NCL, MSC, and Disney are here also. 

 love this photo.. did you tender in to port?

[High on the Seas]

3 hours ago, Gaynors said:

So sorry for your experience.  It is not fair that such a large group can affect the "regular" paying customers experience.

 

We board her Saturday I really hope we don't have that same issue.

I hope you do not either. Our 8 day prior to this one was so much nicer. 

[High on the Seas]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

 love this photo.. did you tender in to port?

Yes all ships had to use tender services. 

[Covepointcruiser]

It makes sense to take large groups, especially revenue generating travel agents on the ships.   We have been onboard when they had other large groups and it just took the sky lounge offline for a few hours.   We have also had bad experiences with large family groups/reunions.   They were very loud in all venues and each one had a special diet.   Service suffered.   Better if they charter the whole ship but them there would be complaints of cancelled bookings.

[QuestionEverything]

On 2/27/2024 at 5:04 PM, High on the Seas said:

I just mailed Laura Hodges-Bethge. Catering to travel agents who can bring them future business is obviously much more important than individual customer concerns. 

Thank you for alerting us to this situation.

Appalling.

We were on a Connie cruise many years ago that ended in San Diego. The last 2 days were totally disrupted by Celebrity as they removed all the soft services in the public areas because...............a nude cruise was the next voyage.

I created quite a scene, with other guests, and we all got a $500 refund on our bill, no not a FCC, a Refund. There was mutiny aboard. 

Hence why we only do premium and above cruise lines now, limited to no group bookings where these groups hijack the ship.

I am very sorry you have experienced this - and the loss/compromise of the Sky Lounge much is a major reason we cancelled Celebrity.

[High on the Seas]

25 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

It makes sense to take large groups, especially revenue generating travel agents on the ships.   We have been onboard when they had other large groups and it just took the sky lounge offline for a few hours.   We have also had bad experiences with large family groups/reunions.   They were very loud in all venues and each one had a special diet.   Service suffered.   Better if they charter the whole ship but them there would be complaints of cancelled bookings.

The sky lounge was closed for almost 10 hours the first two days of the cruise for one group. 

Since then, they have had additional closures for several hours a day in the sky lounge, and they have also had private functions in Cellar masters, the theater, and celebrity Central.

 

Every time they do this, everyone else has to find another place to go, which overloads other areas of the ship.

 

I can see this benefits Celebrity but it’s really frustrating for the other customers.