Pinboy

Nothing new-- They always had them -- The funny part ( ok, to me ) was the thought of mentioning that " there are no whole tomatoes to be found!"----- It's not a treasure hunt--- just ask for 'em ?? Why post something like that ?? Can you imagine the " fun " the Staff would have with that one at the Christmas party ?? Come to think of it, how could I forget --- anyone notice the size of the shrimps in the shrimp cocktails these days or how many olives there are in a salad? So, when I went to GR to complain, etc etc----( not even a plate of chocolate covered strawberries for that one ).

The chances are excellent -- A few $$ to the Maitre'd seems to open up a spot at your preferred time. I've been accused on CC more than once that it's a bribe and folks don't like it. For me, it's a way business is done and a few extra $$ is well worth it. Both Murano and Lawn Club are excellent !!

Where do I start ? Congratulations on you retirements, the beautiful photos, and the 47 years married. I would love to meet folks like you in person --- face to face has so much more credibility than reading a post on a social media site. From the posts above, please add me to the list of those ''encouraging " you to just look forward to your upcoming cruise and don't pay one minute of attention to the negative comments. LOL--- If " so many say they will never sail again on Celebrity " , then why are they even looking at posts on Celebrity's CC site ? ( I don't sail on XYZ and am not interested ( don't lurk ) at any comments on their site ). Now, about the " negative comments "---- Lately there has been absolute nonsense posted ! ( The ones about "no round tomatoes", or, "my onion soup was served cold" --- can you imagine even thinking about posting " garbage" like that ) ?? We were on the Silhouette and have a cruise booked again this winter -- nothing, zero to complain about at all . "my husband surprised me by booking a Sky Suite "----Very nice---- LOL-- I better not tell " you know who" about the surprise otherwise Pinboy might " hear about it " for ,forever .

I'll bet there were many fire " incidents " onboard cruise ships. I'll also bet he forgot to tell you that he was the one who caused the fire when an old fart waving his napkin hit him in the face and he lost his balance causing the baked Alaska to drop on " someone's " head. Guess who was at GR as soon as he/she finished eating , even with the baked Alaska still on their clothes ? ( Nope, no free cruise -- only the " standard ", "Sorry for the inconvenience blah, blah---Please enjoy the chocolate covered strawberries compliments of the Hotel Manager ".

You are probably tooooo young to remember, but, they used to have a baked Alaska parade in the MDR on the last night of the cruise----- Until, " someone " figured it might ( ??? ) be toooo dangerous. So far-- a few folks quoted my post--- nobody actually cancelled for various reasons ( $$ ) and that is very valid. LOL--- I wouldn't give up $$$ because someone posted a thread that there were no , etc, etc . In the meantime--- We just go with a positive attitude and don't waste time looking for " something " to complain about. I joke about the time I was going to " try " (??? ) and get a complimentary cruise because our Waiter forgot to bring my 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time, but the line was too long with others complaining. Mind you, maybe they would have give us a free cruise ??

Ok--- So, lately there's been several negative threads about Celebrity ( Food, Menu selections, cut backs , upcharges, the size of the lobster tails, no friggin round tomatoes and cold onion soup ). Wait-- forget about the cold onion soup----that one is a serious ( ?? ) complaint !! I can't remember reading one post saying " I cancelled our upcoming cruise(s)" ! Lot's of " threats " , but not one actual cancellation. And, to repeat --- we were on the Equinox and the Edge ( February and March ) -- never had a bad meal, poor service, or was invited to dine with an Officer--- it was all good !! I could care less what Carnival offers in the dining " experience ". LOL---- Maybe if Celebrity " introduced " the bellyflop contest, the drink 14 beers through a funnel contest, the Congo line around the pool, the dancing Waiters with baked Alaska on their heads ,and the finale-- the singing of " We Are Zeee Worl " ( We are the world ) there wouldn't be such negativity ?

I never had a poor Agent there and never have to wait for a callback. You being from Ottawa, I see that there are a few locations to spend the Gift Card. Question : LOL---What would you prefer ?? A gift card to spend as you wish, say for a 4pack of mustard ,a 20 lb bag of pistachio nuts (to get ready for the hockey season) , and a container with 90 hot chicken wings ( to get ready for the football season ), or get stuck with $27 OBC that you don't know what to do with, so, you're "bamboozled" and post a thread on CC " I have $ 27 OBC left, what would you spend it on " ? Reminds me of some of the dumbest threads --- lots of 'em lately. ( I know-- don't have to tell me --- been to that " dance " more than once )

Exactly what we have done for " years ", and , to add : If you request, Celebrity will send the booking to your Agent as soon as you book. The extra OBC is based upon the room category you select and the number of days of the cruise. Why we do it : By transferring the booking to our Agent ( can't mention their name on CC ) they send a Gift Card based on 8-9% of what we paid for the cruise which can be used in any of their stores. ( LOL- we were able to buy lots of their $1.50 hot dogs and still have 4000 garbage bags left ).

WHAT ??? LOL--- That's a " Good one " and that's damn insulting ----to me. I won the putting tournament in 2013,( beating an old guy with a cane, a lady hanging on to her walker, and 2 girls that were putting with the wrong side of the putter ). What's wrong with bragging, oops, sharing ( ?? ) that with the other 2439 passengers on board. Not to brag---so, I asked the Cruise Director ( never knew his name ) to mention it during his morning announcements, but, the bum forgot. Instead he told us where we were going and how lucky we were because of the " Great Deals " we could get. He never, or maybe forgot to tell us about the kick-backs, oops, commissions Celebrity receives for promoting , oops, sharing this information. So, when I went down to GR to complain etc, etc---- ( a free cruise ??? not even a plate of chocolate covered strawberries ) !! Lastly-- and this ain't no bragging ---but Our Waiter told me on the first night of our cruise " Pinboy, if YOU want 3 shrimp cocktails ( then he looked around to see if anyone was listening ) , I'll bring 'em for YOU " !! So, the next night at the table right next to ours , there's a man with 3 shrimp cocktails sitting right in front of him. So, as soon as I finished my 2nd Crème Brule desert, I went straight to GR ---- I overheard the young GR Trainee say to the man beside her " Here he comes again--- can you please see what he wants ----this time " ?

Found it--- No Whole Tomatoes 12 By swjumbo, August 22 ( notice the exclamation marks ) ! all the vegetables are pre cut and there are no whole tomatoes to be found! We even tried Lawn Club Grill last night and the salad bar is greatly diminished with no round tomatoes!

" Nobody cares " ??? WHAT ?? Can't be !!! --- I spent $$$$$$$$$ of $US with the terrible $Canadian to $US conversion rate and finally graduated to Elite to get all them perks ----and nobody cares ?? How d'ya think the old farts in the " reserved " section in the theater would feel if nobody cheered like crazy when the Captain ( don't know his/her name ) presented them with a gold(ish) medallion in honor of their 1000 Celebrity cruise ? LOL-- How d'ya think I felt when I ordered a scoop of gelato and the young lady ( very pretty ) put 2 scoops into a cup and when I told her we were Elite, she took 1 out-- " You only get one "she said. ( Absolutely true story ). So, when I went to GR to remove the gratuities or " settle " for a complimentary cruise, I overheard a man complaining about no round tomatoes, a lady complaining that her French onion soup was served cold and another old fart was upset because a young child was in the Solarium. That's more serious than the " only one scoop " of gelato, so I left.

" different expectations " ?? Where d'ya dream that one up ? Perhaps you meant different " entitlements " because they paid more ? We don't stay in a suite and have the same expectations ( an enjoyable cruise ) as anyone else. Come to think of it--- we also are " entitled "-------to get what we paid for. Here's the answer --- Pretty soon !! Here's the question--- How long is it going to take for this thread to become kinda, sorta nasty ? Is it just me or are some of the complaints about the food in particular totally nuts. Someone posted that their French onion soup was served cold--- Ok, now what ? And, that dandy about no round tomatoes ?? Boy oh boy, the line ups at GR is going to get longer and longer with people removing their gratuities.

Crème Brulé on the Celebrity ships is as good as it is here. A second order tastes as good as the first ! A third order---- only if you are by yourself. Otherwise the " don't ya know it's got tooooo much etc etc ". The " But I'm on vacation " doesn't work in these parts !! As an aside--- we never look at the menus prior to the cruise-- no point in case there is a change and I wouldn't embarrass myself complaining about it. "Hey, get a load of that guy at table 134 -- he's upset that we don't have no round tomatoes and is gonna post it on Cruise Critics ".

LOL--- Whomever posted it as a tread was serious. " Hey, xyz -- remember the time I asked for them round tomatoes and the Waiter looked at me like I was crazy ? I gotta let people know about it " Off topic --- I heard there's a famous restaurant in Ottawa that has the best eggrolls. What's the name in case we come there sometime ?

" older more boring " LOL--- Love it !! You win !! The average poster on CC is probably old but not necessarily boring. Who d'ya think has time to spend " hours " posting stuff on CC ?? LOL---Just read some of the complaints and/or questions---same ones over and over again. " No round tomatoes-- what would you choose/do -- why is Celebrity charging for room service at 2 am just because the delivery people were never given a $2 tip -- I seen a child in the Solarium , and everybody's favorite --- No, it's tooooo obvious ( Who's the etc etc ). Gotta go--- no more time and besides I don't got no complaints ----and I'm not 92.

1--- Only when necessary--- ( LOL ) 2--- We ( I ) don't talk that "lingo" here --- unless it's minus 40 in the winter and/or our hockey team loses -----again-- ( LOL ). C'est la vie ( That's life ).

" cattle class" ??? Disgrace to use that term !! Just because some of us choose to cruise in lower than the Retreat, we don't deserve to be referred to as " cattle " !!! "Shame, I asked as we could not get any on our last cruise " . Isn't that too bad--- You asked and someone said " No ". FYI--- " Strength in Business is the ability to say " NO "--- Good on Celebrity .

Very true-- It's too bad there there are so many trolls on CC --- LOL--- THE best thread in a long time is the one about the round tomatoes, mashed potatoes, the size of the lobster tails, and " did anyone else see a child in the Solarium " ? Ya wanna complain 'bout somthin , make sure it's serious-- like " My Waiter forgot to bring my 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time --what would you do " !!

I see you are new to Cruise Critics--- Please don't give it one minute of thought--- nothing wrong with Celebrity-- good food, good service. clean ships, so so entertainment, a few dumb games or activities( you don't have to participate in them ). If you order something and don't like it--- the Waiter will change it If you order something and want another serving---the Waiter will bring it. If you prefer a table for two in the dining room--never a problem. Just go and enjoy the cruise like 99% of the passengers. ( FYI--- I am not a Travel Agent and do not work for Celebrity ). Here's a hint--- If you see that there are no round tomatoes and you gotta have one--- just ask. They will get you 4 --- then you won't have to start a thread on CC about it like someone did a few days ago ( LOL )

I've posted many times that in all of our cruises we never had " anything " to complain about. Absolutely true. I joke about the time our Waiter forgot to bring my 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time. A " super awesome Celebrity experience" : The Edge in March 2023 Late on the first night we went up to the Rooftop Garden restaurant to " check it out " as we say. The place was empty, the staff were cleaning up and we were approached by a Waiter. Within a few minutes other staff members came over and joined the conversation ( just general chit chat about them ,their background etc and how cold it gets in winter where we are from ). The next day at lunch , a gentleman introduced himself and told us he is the Manager at the Rooftop Garden and invited us to be his guest the next night. " I was in the background and saw that you spent time chatting with my staff . They said you showed interest in them, their work, their background etc, and they really appreciated it. We would like you to be our guest tomorrow night ". After a few "It's not necessary ", we accepted and enjoyed an exceptional dinner with superb service. All we did was showed some interest in themselves and that qualifies as a " super awesome Celebrity experience" !!

What's wrong with people today ?? Is it just me ?? There's so much negativity on CC and mostly about nitpicking nonsense ( another word would have more effect, but, not in my nature to swear---- unless necessary. ( Here comes " It might be nonsense to you Pinboy , etc etc so, stop reading and posting, blah, blah blah ). What would make someone post about tomatoes, the size of their lobster tail, a cookie , the cut back on the size of a gelato scoop , that their Waiter forgot to bring his 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time or I'm bringing my Stateroom Attendant one of my " famous " Christmas cakes ? Oops, delete that one about the shrimp cocktails. CC is fun to read although it appears that the same threads keep popping up. It's been a long time since someone posted " Who's the Captain on our cruise in 2026 "? Here's a new one--- " Our Room Steward forgot to fill the ice bucket--- what would you do " ?

Totally agree--- LOL--- By reading so many negative posts about the food and an extra few $$ for things that were included in the past , I thought we were the only ones that cruised twice during the winter and never had a problem ( especially with food ) or less than satisfactory service. I feel better now that there are one or two that agree with me. However-- I did post and stick by it--- If anyone ( suite passenger as example ) booked with XYZ included in the price, that is what they should receive, or, if there were cutbacks, the price should be adjusted accordingly. LOL--- I'll tell ya --- It took a lot of "courage" to post a thread about the friggin Round Tomatoes. " Hey xyz, I can't come for dinner right now-- I gotta get that " stuff " about them round tomatoes on CC before I forget about it ---------there already are 4823 posts about the size of the lobster tails--- what night was it that the Waiter forgot to bring my 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time " ?? C'est la vie----- that's life

IMO--- Totally agree !! As mentioned several times, we don't stay in a suite because we are non-drinkers and would not require the services offered by a Butler or team of. Folks that stay in a suite ( and it appears that there are many on CC ) are absolutely correct in that they are, forget the term " entitled " , insert the term " required " to receive the services and benefits attached to their reservation ( booking ). Celebrity's Management must have given some very serious thought ( cost vs satisfaction ) before instituting a Butler team rather than a dedicated Butler to service X number of suites. Based on what I'm reading, Celebrity is taking much too big a risk in upsetting and/or losing many longtime loyal suite customers.

"directly tip for good service "--- Excellent-- we do that also as well as the Gratuities Included. IMO---- I believe they introduced the Gratuities Included because too many people were not tipping. In fact, we all know, and some people reading this probably do , remove the gratuities as soon as they board. They " claim " to do their own tipping or might ( probably) not tip at all. Other " big sports " wait until the last night and then remove the gratuities because of some bs excuse. LOL--- One time I came " that close " to removing the gratuities--- our Waiter, the bum, forgot to bring my 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time !! I doubt they would have given us a voucher for a complimentary cruise because that is not a serious a complaint as some of the crap being posted now on CC ( no friggin round tomatoes, as an example, can turn into 1382 pages of absolute " I'm not cruzin wit Cebrilty no more ") nonsense.

Good luck with that ---Never gonna happen---- When there are threads about round tomatoes and sliced vegetables ( unbelievable) , the size of a lobster tail ( as if the Executive Chef orders " only the small ones, please " ),or my hamburger was tooooo well done at Mast Grill, plus some other " dandies ". It's quite frustrating to read this nonsense ---- ( Yea, I know--- So why do you read it ) ?? Gotta go---Walmart --Today's Special--- " Large lobster tails recently refused by Celebrity Cruise Lines "