Pre-cruise Celebrity Customer Service - still poor

[Jade13]

I have already stated that my pre-cruise experiance with Celebrity has been extremely poor, especially compared to Holland America Line. Part of my problem was that I booked directly with Celebrity, some nice Sales Rep gave me their full name and number, along with e-mail address and told me to contact them with any questions. When multiple e-mails did not get answered, I finally found out they had left the company and Celebrity would not give me a new Vacation Planner (someone was honest to say it was a commission issue).

 

Problems have persisted, the next requesting custom air (I wanted to fly in a day early, yes, it was less than what I could book on my own), sent a great itinerary, only to e-mail them back we would take it but my DH was not listed. A week later I called and was told custom air was no longer available. This was in September for a February cruise. We were not flexible (to fly back a day later) and my flight is outrageous. Next was the fiasco with the fuel surcharge. I was one of the ones that tried to pay on the 16th, told I could not pay in full without the surcharge (have this on e-mail) only to find out that others paid that day through a TA and had their fuel surcharge refunded. I am even more mad that two people at Celebrity had told me to send a letter to their attention, but have not even acknowledged receipt. On top of this, on Nov 16 the Rep told me I would, per her Manager, being getting OBC in leui of the fuel surcharge. Of course that Rep will not back up her statement or respond (My e-mail to her that day asks for more info on the OBC).

 

We found out after we booked and paid that we could not pre-book the Murano restaurant. Maybe this will not be a problem, but it was a deciding factor in choosing this ship. The latest is that in December someone in the Resolutions Department (I was already speaking to them about the fuel surcharge) told me to contact the dining department and perhaps they would get us a reservation since my DH is a Chef (well known place). I didn't expect them to give this to us in place of someone in the Captains Club, but perhaps after all of those requests were taken care of. So, I e-mailed as well as faxed the Dining Department. They e-mailed to please resend (could not open PDF). On top of this I asked about a 4 top on the second dining level.

 

I finally called today, spoke to someone in Dining who told me they had nothing to do with Murano, just the main dining room. Btw, although they can not give out table numbers, we were on the ground level, not the 2nd Floor requested (they offered to change this but all 4 tops were in the back, so they suggested we stay on the ground level "in a very nice spot").

 

They transfered me to the Captains Club, who said sorry, you need to try to get a reservation in Muranos after you board the ship.

 

Anyway, Celebrity is not making me feel very special. Right now I rate the pre-cruise experiance 2 on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the highest). I know both Celebrity and HAL try to promote themselves as the upper end of the Mass Market Lines, but Celebrity feels very "Mass Market". I hope it's just the Sales and Customer Service and the actual cruise itself will be great based on the latest review.

 

Btw, the only reason "Pre-cruise" gets a 2 is because we had a slight price decrease and I learned on CC that they will refund the differance after final payment, and they did and without any question.

[Acey]

Sorry to hear about this. I would do up a letter to Celebrity and give them a chance to make it right for you.

Good luck.

[Alexru12]

wow i didn't know you could call dining, what number do you use?

[Jade13]

I have already stated that my pre-cruise experiance with Celebrity has been extremely poor, especially compared to Holland America Line. Part of my problem was that I booked directly with Celebrity, some nice Sales Rep gave me their full name and number, along with e-mail address and told me to contact them with any questions. When multiple e-mails did not get answered, I finally found out they had left the company and Celebrity would not give me a new Vacation Planner (someone was honest to say it was a commission issue).

 

Problems have persisted, the next requesting custom air (I wanted to fly in a day early, yes, it was less than what I could book on my own), sent a great itinerary, only to e-mail them back we would take it but my DH was not listed. A week later I called and was told custom air was no longer available. This was in September for a February cruise. We were not flexible (to fly back a day later) and my flight is outrageous. Next was the fiasco with the fuel surcharge. I was one of the ones that tried to pay on the 16th, told I could not pay in full without the surcharge (have this on e-mail) only to find out that others paid that day through a TA and had their fuel surcharge refunded. I am even more mad that two people at Celebrity had told me to send a letter to their attention, but have not even acknowledged receipt. On top of this, on Nov 16 the Rep told me I would, per her Manager, being getting OBC in leui of the fuel surcharge. Of course that Rep will not back up her statement or respond (My e-mail to her that day asks for more info on the OBC).

 

We found out after we booked and paid that we could not pre-book the Murano restaurant. Maybe this will not be a problem, but it was a deciding factor in choosing this ship. The latest is that in December someone in the Resolutions Department (I was already speaking to them about the fuel surcharge) told me to contact the dining department and perhaps they would get us a reservation since my DH is a Chef (well known place). I didn't expect them to give this to us in place of someone in the Captains Club, but perhaps after all of those requests were taken care of. So, I e-mailed as well as faxed the Dining Department. They e-mailed to please resend (could not open PDF). On top of this I asked about a 4 top on the second dining level.

 

I finally called today, spoke to someone in Dining who told me they had nothing to do with Murano, just the main dining room. Btw, although they can not give out table numbers, we were on the ground level, not the 2nd Floor requested (they offered to change this but all 4 tops were in the back, so they suggested we stay on the ground level "in a very nice spot").

 

They transfered me to the Captains Club, who said sorry, you need to try to get a reservation in Muranos after you board the ship.

 

Anyway, Celebrity is not making me feel very special. Right now I rate the pre-cruise experiance 2 on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the highest). I know both Celebrity and HAL try to promote themselves as the upper end of the Mass Market Lines, but Celebrity feels very "Mass Market". I hope it's just the Sales and Customer Service and the actual cruise itself will be great based on the latest review.

 

Btw, the only reason "Pre-cruise" gets a 2 is because we had a slight price decrease and I learned on CC that they will refund the differance after final payment, and they did and without any question.

 

I forgot the part about when I could not get the fuel surcharge waived on November 16, I decided to transfer one of the bookings to a TA. One of the reasons that I have proof of my conversation that day is that the transfer form was sent to me on the 16th. I filled it out but Celebrity transfered the booking to the wrong TA. It took two weeks to straighten that out (more of my time wasted on phone calls to Celebrity).

[Cruisenouvelle]

I think a lot of folks on the =X= boards will agree that stateside customer service is their weakest link. I'm curious... why can you not pre-book Murano's ? Is this your first Celebrity cruise ? I feel confident that once you're onboard, you'll enjoy the cruise immensely.

Happy cruises...

[Karynanne]

Jade13, if this is your first Celebrity cruise, then in the future...after you've joined Captain's Club, you'll be able to directly call the Captain's Club and pre-reserve a Speciality Restaurant reservation.

 

Celebrity's Customer Service does leave a lot to be desired. They are merely employees that will book your cruise, and will want to quickly move onto the next call.

 

The Celebrity employees with Captain's Club (IMHO) have always been extremely polite and helpful.

[Sea Island Lady]

Jade - Are you from Canada?

 

Sorry you have had so much trouble. That's why I prefer a TA.

 

In my opinion, I would rather be in the lower level of the dining room, especially if you are in the center area. Was the 4 top for the two of you? I can't remember if you have children.

 

BTW - How much of a refund did you get back when the price dropped. I didn't know that was possible after final payment. I will watch mine more closely for the next two weeks.

[usha]

I agree about the land-based X customer service being sub-par. That's why it's especially important to have a good cruise agent that will fight your battles for you! I can't imagine how frustrated I'd be going toe-to-toe with X's reps on my own! :eek:

Thank goodness, once you get onboard, it's another experience entirely. I really can't say enough for the onboard guest services.:)

[Jade13]

Jade - Are you from Canada?

 

Sorry you have had so much trouble. That's why I prefer a TA.

 

In my opinion, I would rather be in the lower level of the dining room, especially if you are in the center area. Was the 4 top for the two of you? I can't remember if you have children.

 

BTW - How much of a refund did you get back when the price dropped. I didn't know that was possible after final payment. I will watch mine more closely for the next two weeks.

 

We are not in Canada.

 

I will stay on the lower level. I am not sure where we are as they can not give out table numbers. I was told "a nice area" (but they are going to tell everyone that) and that there are no 4 tops by windows, and we could watch the waiters come down the Grand Staircase.

 

We are bringing two teenagers. Their inside dropped twice after final. $10.00pp and then $30.00pp. Theirs was easy as that booking was directly through Celebrity. Ours dropped $20.00pp and initially the TA wanted to charge me a $50.00pp change fee (but that quickly changed when I reminded them that I had over $20K booked with them). I read here that someone had RCCL refund after final so I figured I might as well ask.

[Jade13]

I agree about the land-based X customer service being sub-par. That's why it's especially important to have a good cruise agent that will fight your battles for you! I can't imagine how frustrated I'd be going toe-to-toe with X's reps on my own! :eek:

Thank goodness, once you get onboard, it's another experience entirely. I really can't say enough for the onboard guest services.:)

 

I am sure we will have a great time once we board. But, Celebrity VIPs need to do something with their land based Sales/Customer Service department.

 

I can already see where they need work. HAL has a "Guest Relations Department". I think it acts the same as the "Captains Club" with the exception that it is there for everyone, even those on their first HAL cruise.

[Sea Island Lady]

We are not in Canada.

 

I will stay on the lower level. I am not sure where we are as they can not give out table numbers. I was told "a nice area" (but they are going to tell everyone that) and that there are no 4 tops by windows, and we could watch the waiters come down the Grand Staircase.

 

We are bringing two teenagers. Their inside dropped twice after final. $10.00pp and then $30.00pp. Theirs was easy as that booking was directly through Celebrity. Ours dropped $20.00pp and initially the TA wanted to charge me a $50.00pp change fee (but that quickly changed when I reminded them that I had over $20K booked with them). I read here that someone had RCCL refund after final so I figured I might as well ask.

I don't understand why you think you should get the fuel charge back. I thought only Canadians were getting that. :confused:

 

I really don't think there are 4 tops near the windows, but by the time you eat, it will be dark out anyway and the drapes will be closed.

 

20K! I assume that includes your Med. cruise?

[cme]

I have been waiting since Nov. 12th. for a reply on a email that I sent them. I sent another email Dec. 31st. Does anybody have any ideas:confused: We had some problems on our Summit cruise and I wanted them to be aware of them.

 

Thanks:D

[cme]

I have been waiting since Nov. 12th. for a reply on a email that I sent them. I sent another email Dec. 31st. Does anybody have any ideas:confused: We had some problems on our Summit cruise and I wanted them to be aware of them.

 

Thanks:D

[caviargal]

Jade13, if this is your first Celebrity cruise, then in the future...after you've joined Captain's Club, you'll be able to directly call the Captain's Club and pre-reserve a Speciality Restaurant reservation.

 

 

I thought this was a perk for Elite and not all Captains Club members but could be wrong.:confused:

 

Jade, I have had several less than positive experiences with customer relations at X. Definitely a weak spot in their product.

[Jade13]

I don't understand why you think you should get the fuel charge back. I thought only Canadians were getting that. :confused:

 

I really don't think there are 4 tops near the windows, but by the time you eat, it will be dark out anyway and the drapes will be closed.

 

20K! I assume that includes your Med. cruise?

 

Muranos - Yes, I understand about the Captains Club. Someone at Celebrity (their sugggestion, not mine) suggested that I contact the Dining room and they could possibly give us a reservation at Muranos.

 

Fuel Surcharge - You would need to read through the fuel surcharge threads to understand. Celebrity changed the date and waived charges for people who paid the day of the annoucement. I phoned, e-mailed and spoke to someone that day (have full name and e-mail) who said I could not do this when I found out later they did it for others. If they are going to give me OBC it is the same difference.

 

Dining assignment - I never asked for a window. Someone on CC suggested 2nd floor balcony. Apparently those are 8 tops. Not a big deal. I was just mentioning that my booking actually says "upper level requested", but I'm not surprised they put me on the lower level.

 

TA - My Med cruise is currently direct with HAL. We have 4 cruises currently booked (only two with this TA) but I was including the one last year. We are taking a small ship to Antarctica (with landings) next year and it is expensive.

[Jade13]

I have been waiting since Nov. 12th. for a reply on a email that I sent them. I sent another email Dec. 31st. Does anybody have any ideas:confused: We had some problems on our Summit cruise and I wanted them to be aware of them.

 

Thanks:D

 

Where did you send it? Was it to a specific agent? I have had two agents specifically tell me to e-mail me and neither one has had the courtesey to "Confirm receipt" of my e-mail.

[Susan-M]

I have been waiting since Nov. 12th. for a reply on a email that I sent them. I sent another email Dec. 31st. Does anybody have any ideas:confused:

 

A follow up email with a 'catchy' subject line will get their attention, but don't be surprised to receive a response asking you to be patient and advising that they will get back to you .... and again, don't be too surprised if this process is repeated several times more before you finally give up. As others have mentioned, their customer service can be pretty dismal....not always, but too often.

 

Maybe a written letter would be more effective?

[Sea Island Lady]

Fuel Surcharge - You would need to read through the fuel surcharge threads to understand. Celebrity changed the date and waived charges for people who paid the day of the annoucement. I phoned, e-mailed and spoke to someone that day (have full name and e-mail) who said I could not do this when I found out later they did it for others. If they are going to give me OBC it is the same difference.

 

Dining assignment - I never asked for a window. Someone on CC suggested 2nd floor balcony. Apparently those are 8 tops. Not a big deal. I was just mentioning that my booking actually says "upper level requested", but I'm not surprised they put me on the lower level.

 

TA - My Med cruise is currently direct with HAL. We have 4 cruises currently booked (only two with this TA) but I was including the one last year. We are taking a small ship to Antarctica (with landings) next year and it is expensive.

Oh, sorry! I understand, and remember reading those surcharge threads. For some reason, I thought you had just booked the Century, like we did. :)

 

As for the table by the window comment,,, when you mentioned that dining services said "there are no 4 top tables by the window," I thought that you were trying to get one. ;)

 

WOW! You have many future cruises planned! :eek: Our Mediterranean cruise is one of the few that we have planned in advance. I'd say the majority of our cruises have been booked less than a month away and no more than 3-4 months out. This 9 months out is killing me and I am already sick of the trip before it begins. :D

[excitedofharpenden]

OK, this is my take on things. First of all, the run around that you have been given by Celebrity on various subjects is frustrating and I would be doing a concise and constructive letter to the top of the tree to get some comments and hopefully resolution. Not answering you, either by phone or email is poor service. For that reason, I would set out my issues as described and post it by recorded delivery or like method.

 

As regards the issues you have had with the dining, I don't want you to read it as a slam because that is not my intention, but where did you get the impression you could pre-book Muranos? If this was such a crucial part of the deal then I would have made sure I could do what I wanted to do. The seating in the main dining room. It has always been my understanding that this was done on a "best endeavours" basis having regard for the amount of people they have to seat on a given cruise. I've never been able to pick and choose a table ahead of time. I've just indicated size, age group and main or late seating and most of the time it has worked out fine. As it has been mentioned here, do go and see the Maitre d' as soon as you board to check the arrangements and if they aren't satisfactory for you, see if he can change it (once again having regard for the number of people they are arranging places for).

 

As I said, the second paragraph isn't meant as a flame, but rather how I understand things work. It's a shame that someone at Celebrity didn't have the courage to tell you this. It seems they have promised long here and delivered short.

 

As to the issues you have had, I hope they are resolved.

 

Phil

[Jade13]

As regards the issues you have had with the dining, I don't want you to read it as a slam because that is not my intention, but where did you get the impression you could pre-book Muranos? If this was such a crucial part of the deal then I would have made sure I could do what I wanted to do. The seating in the main dining room. It has always been my understanding that this was done on a "best endeavours" basis having regard for the amount of people they have to seat on a given cruise. I've never been able to pick and choose a table ahead of time. I've just indicated size, age group and main or late seating and most of the time it has worked out fine. As it has been mentioned here, do go and see the Maitre d' as soon as you board to check the arrangements and if they aren't satisfactory for you, see if he can change it (once again having regard for the number of people they are arranging places for).

 

As I said, the second paragraph isn't meant as a flame, but rather how I understand things work. It's a shame that someone at Celebrity didn't have the courage to tell you this. It seems they have promised long here and delivered short.

 

As to the issues you have had, I hope they are resolved.

 

Phil

 

Phil, I didn't take it as a flame. We are used to HAL where we can pre-book dinner (they have also given us table assignments prior to the cruise). As far as dining our only request typed into our reservation was for a "4 top on the balcony level". As far as Murano's, I was talking to the customer "service" about the poor service and why they refused to give us a new vacation planner when ours had left the company (and the other Sales Reps could not wait to get us off of the phone), and when she heard DH was a Chef suggested we contact the dining room and perhaps they would accomodate us with a pre-cruise Murano reservation. I wasn't going to mention this but this was a Celebrity suggestion, not mine. (Btw, my Dh could care less about this extra pay restaurant and at this point prefers we do not waste our money - I can get anything on the menu at home. Perhaps we will save $120.00 as I am turned off by the whole situation). They gave me the dining fax and e-mail, and phone. The more letters I write, the more frustrated I get. The dining told me they have nothing to do with Murano restaurant, but since I already was on the phone with them confimed the 4 top on the lower level. That's the story.

 

My pre-cruise experiance with Celebrity has been very poor, and the way that some of the reps have spoken to me has been, well I won't say (but the upper Management should be embarrassed). But right now, sad to say, I am going with an open mind, but lowering my expectations with Celebrity.

[Jade13]

I am already sick of the trip before it begins. :D

 

How are you sick of a trip that has not started? Do you mean sick of the planning?

[excitedofharpenden]

Phil, I didn't take it as a flame. We are used to HAL where we can pre-book dinner (they have also given us table assignments prior to the cruise). As far as dining our only request typed into our reservation was for a "4 top on the balcony level". As far as Murano's, I was talking to the customer "service" about the poor service and why they refused to give us a new vacation planner when ours had left the company (and the other Sales Reps could not wait to get us off of the phone), and when she heard DH was a Chef suggested we contact the dining room and perhaps they would accomodate us with a pre-cruise Murano reservation. I wasn't going to mention this but this was a Celebrity suggestion, not mine. (Btw, my Dh could care less about this extra pay restaurant and at this point prefers we do not waste our money - I can get anything on the menu at home. Perhaps we will save $120.00 as I am turned off by the whole situation). They gave me the dining fax and e-mail, and phone. The more letters I write, the more frustrated I get. The dining told me they have nothing to do with Murano restaurant, but since I already was on the phone with them confimed the 4 top on the lower level. That's the story.

 

My pre-cruise experiance with Celebrity has been very poor, and the way that some of the reps have spoken to me has been, well I won't say (but the upper Management should be embarrassed). But right now, sad to say, I am going with an open mind, but lowering my expectations with Celebrity.

Personally speaking, I think it would be a shame if you canned the idea of Muranos. It is a lovely setting and the food is great (goats cheese souffle - yum!) so if you still want to try it, go there as soon as you can after you board and see what they can do for you. The issue with Muranos on a busy cruise is that I understand it can become booked up because of the more limited seating it has compared to the larger Celebrity ships. If they can do something for you on board, I'm sure they will and the experience is worthwhile in my view.

 

Whatever happens, I hope you have a great cruise.

 

Phil

[crzfanatic]

We didn't book the Murano until the 3rd night of the cruise. It was no problem getting a table (granted it was for 6) for the next 2 nights at 8 PM. We certainly had a harder time of it on Azamara...

 

Andy

[Sea Island Lady]

I am getting ready to call CCC to make sure they have our RCCL C&A numbers. I'll report back on the service.

 

My DH says that he does not care to go to Murano's this time, although we enjoyed the Olympic dining experience on the Millennium. With the Century only being a 5 night cruise, we don't want to miss a night in the dining room. That could change, though.

[DGP1111]

After reading this thread, I suddenly feel like I should go buy a lottery ticket quickly.

Will be heading out on my very first X sailing in four weeks (Century) and every single call, without exception, that I've made to Celebrity has been answered by a friendly and competent customer service agent. And no one ever made me feel rushed. I guess I'm a lucky one on that.

Now to decide on what six lottery numbers to play . . . :)