Tablet

On 11/12/2018 at 6:26 PM, DrKoob said:

I want to be completely clear that we DID NOT receive bad service at anytime on our two weeks in Summit in October. Every single person serving us did an amazing job. The problem was there were not enough of them. And it wasn't just the bartenders. 

 

Examples:

• We were in the Rendezvous Lounge before dinner and there were at least 100 people in the lounge and about 20 of them waiting at the bar and there was just ONE bartender. That's it.
• We were in the buffet for dinner. We picked up our dinner and we waited more than 20 minutes for a server to come by and offer us a glass of wine or a cocktail. I finally got up and walked to the bar on the far end of the buffet and got my wife a glass of wine and ordered a drink for myself. The bartender there said that he would bring it to me. About 20 minutes later, I finally got up and left. Never got the drink. Thankfully I had a package so I wasn't charged for it.
• Another night in the buffet, it was a SPECIAL burger night at the grille at the back of the buffet. I went back there on three separate occasions about 15 minutes apart and each time there was a line of 8-10 people waiting and ONE crew member working. On an advertised daily special.
• On a daily basis in the Rendezvous Lounge there was only one server for the entire side of the lounge, more than 150 plus people.
• My brother, his wife and our two best friends were in Aqua and eating in Blu. There was one sommelier in the entire restaurant each night for more than 150 diners. He got one glass of wine. Two if he was lucky. He said that the sommelier was working hard but she just couldn't cover that number of people when the place was full.
• We had the best stateroom attendant we have ever had on any of our 26 cruises (17 with Celebrity) but he worked with no help whatsoever. Not sure he ever got any time off. When we started cruising with X in 2004, our stateroom attendant had 15 cabins and an assistant. Our guy on Summit had no assistant and 20+ cabins. That's nuts.

 

These are just a few of the examples. I have a lot more.

 

Jim

I echo Jim's comments. I started this post because there was such a large discrepancy between the level of service we experienced on the October Summit cruise and the level of service we have had on all the other X cruises we have been on. I will also reiterate, none of my comments are directed at the staff themselves. They worked their tail off and did the best they could. The issue was a significant under staffing problem that was evident in the MDR, the grills, the bars, and the lounges. It wasn't a one day issue that got corrected, this was a problem for the entire cruise. It makes sense that different people will have different experiences on the same cruise and therefore it is no surprise that some members had a wonderful customer experience. I'm glad for those that enjoyed their on-ship service. For me however, not so much.

On 11/10/2018 at 4:21 PM, Mynki said:

Interesting. It seems little has changed in a year then. We did a B2B in concierge and then Aqua. The service in Blu was so poor that we returned to the MDR. Our Blu maitre d' tracked us down in the MDR (Apparently when you check in any restaurant the staff can tell via computer) to ask why we were not dining in Blu. I told him that the service was poor and was informed that they were under staffed and required four more waiters and an additional sommelier, this was in December 2018. 

Bar service was a joke at times with wait times of 20 minutes due to only a single barman being available. At times table service was non existent. 

It's a shame that they have not gotten their act together and addressed their staffing issues. 

Last July we sailed on Independence of the seas. On that ship there was an abundance of bar staff. In fact in one bar on one night we were approached by four different staff within 15 minutes asking if we wanted a drink. Ironically this became annoying. 🙂

I would be happy to be "annoyed" vs. the alternative. Sad and disappointing to hear that what we experienced was not a new phenomena and that they had plenty of time to get it fixed. That suggests to me that they are fine with the current customer service on Summit. If that is true, my one and only cruise on Summit will be my last. Guess I expected more from Celebrity.

I just returned from a 7-day southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan on the Summit. Based on many positive posts on this site, I was very much looking forward to my trip. I have sailed Celebrity many times but never the Summit, always S-class. I was especially looking forward to a high level of service that many posts have discussed with even some members suggesting that the Summit is the only Celebrity ship they will book because of the service. Let me say upfront, that the crew and staff on board were for the most part excellent and work very hard. However, the service was the worst we have encountered on any Celebrity ship to date. The service in one word was SLOW. Slow in the dining room, slow at the bars, slow in the lounges, just slow.

It appeared the staff were working extremely hard, but that the ship was just understaffed. One evening we ended up just leaving the dining room after ordering a drink since it had not showed up to the table after 25 minutes. On many occasions, I had to go to 2-3 different bars to get a soft drink or adult beverage. Multiple times while sitting in one of the lounges, we ended up leaving because we could not get anyone to take our order. The outdoor dining options around d the pool were often so backed up it wasn't worth the wait. I'm not sure if it had something to do with the fact that the Summit is destined for dry dock or not, but the overall quality of service was not what I had hoped for. I remain an enthusiastic supporter and advocate for Celebrity and feel on a whole that they do a wonderful job. We will definitely sail Celebrity again, but may think twice before booking the Summit or another M-class vessel.

Next March will be our first stop in the Dominican Republic. Reads all the posts but two questions:

 

1. Has anyone ever been on one of the Celebrity ships and had the port cancelled due to weather or rough seas?

 

2. Has anyone done the segway eco tour? It says it is about 4 hours long.

 

Several months before we go, so will keep watching this post.

Just returned from 8-days on the Equinox. Scheduled to stop in Punta Cana as one of 5 stops.

Were never allowed off the boat due to unsafe conditions for the tenders. Two to four foot swells made the 15-20 minutes journey to the marina too dangerous. The weather that day was absolutely gorgeous, so I hate to see what it looks like when the weather is a bit off. This was a huge disappointment for us, not just because we missed Punta Cana but it came at the beginning of a planned sea day which meant we ended up spending 4 days at sea on an 8-day cruise vs. 3 days at sea. Frustrating part is the Equinox was the ONLY ship on the Punta Cana manifest for the entire month of May. Not sure why Celebrity continues to try this destination? I for one will never again book a cruise that has Punta Cana as a scheduled stop.

has anyone done any of the excursions at St Thomas that has alcohol? If so what did you think? I would like to drink the day away on an excursion but want more than champagne and don’t want to wait till 2 hours in to start drinking if I feel like it.

Kon Tiki.

Picks hp at both Crown Bay and Havensight.

Rum punch and bar opens as soon as you walk on the boat.

It was 9am for our group the last time we went.

Will be back for another round (pun intended) in 2 weeks.

I am specifically looking for a catamaran Snorkel Cruise recommendation..... can anyone give me a tip here? Thank you!

Many great comments and ratings associated with Random Wind.

Diane has been great to work with.

You can contact her at info@randomwind.com

My apologies since I know this question has been dealt with before, but for some reason I can't find the thread.

I'm trying to determine if my magnetic wall hooks will work on the Equinox, concierge class rooms.

Any advice or information is much appreciated.

I haven't done that tour, but in most cases I find you will have a more interesting experience (and better value for your dollar) booking on your own. I have been to Punta Cana 20 times since 2002 and am 99% sure that the local cigar factory, chocolate museum, and possibly even rum & coffee tasting will be done at Don Lucas Cigars/Mundo Authentico as they have all 4 things on site. If you email them (donlucascigars@hotmail.com) you might be able to arrange free pickup as that's what they do at the local resorts - not sure how far the cruise pier is though and if that might affect the free pickup (and return trip) but it doesn't hurt to shoot them an email and see what can be arranged. Don Lucas is definitely worth visiting as they have excellent cigars and the staff there really knows their stuff; you might even get to roll your own cigar (and free samples are plentiful!) I have also purchased larimar jewellery at their jewellery shop and it is excellent quality.

 

Another idea is to contact Punta Cana Mike's Dominican Adventures (www.puntacanamike.com) and see what you can arrange with him. Mike is a Canadian who has been living in the DR for over 20 years now and runs his own tour company. If you go on his website you will see he has pre-set tours but he will also customize to what you want to do, so if you really want to visit the cigar/chocolate/rum factory, he can take you there on the tour. I know Mike personally and he is a friendly, hard working guy who loves what he does and loves to show off his adopted country to visitors. He will take great care of you!

Great information.

THANK YOU for taking the time to respond.

Much appreciated.

Look over at the ports of call board for specific DR discussion. Might find some help there.

Had posted it to the DR site under Ports of Call for about a week with no responses.

Thought I would try here in case someone had something to offer but wasn't checking the DR site?

No worries, it will just add to the adventure of the trip!

Has anyone done the above excursion?

General description is a visit to a hand-made artisan craft shop, tour of a local cigar factory, followed by a visit with tasting at a chocolate museum, then off for more tasting of coffee and rum and ending at La Mona, a restaurant at one of the local beaches.

Our group of 4 are trying to figure out if we would be better off booking a private guide and setting our own itinerary.

Have been to DR before but never Punta Cana.

In port from 0700-1700.

Any advice or opinions would be appreciated.

How were you going to use Eagle Catamaran for a snorkel trip? It's posted that ALL of their day trips (except the sunset cruise) leave the dock at 9am. So that means everyone needs to be ON the dock, checking in at 8:30 a.m. (?)

 

The snorkel catamaran's I've used in the past are also the same. Early morning departure and return about 6pm at night.

 

Oh, and the sketchy communication, I'm sure, is still a result of the hurricanes that ravaged the island.

Since we are the ONLY ship in port on the day we arrive, all the operators I have reached out to were more than willing to adjust their start time in the morning.. No one seemed to care if they left an hour later and came back a bit later since all potential customers via the cruise ship were on the same boat.

I would be happy to chalk up the sketchy communication to the hurricane except for the fact that other tour operators on the same island were able to get back to me often within 24 hours.

Has anyone done the above excursion? It is through Celebrity but may have other names depending on the cruise line.

General description is a visit to a hand-made artisan craft shop, tour of a local cigar factory, followed by a visit with tasting at a chocolate museum, then off for more tasting of coffee and rum and ending at La Mona, a restaurant at one of the local beaches.

Our group of 4 are trying to figure out if we would be better off booking a private guide and setting our own itinerary.

Have been to DR before but never Punta Cana.

Are in port from 0700-1700.

Any advice or opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks for the recommendations. They both sound wonderful. I thought about the competition with other boats as a reason I can't get a response from Eagle but then checked the ships in port data and found out our Celebrity ship is the only one schedule the day we are there.

Read good things about Eagle Catamaran on this site. Unfortunately, after numerous attempts over the course of 2 weeks, I am unable to get them to respond to any emails or messages.

We are a group of 4 adults looking to secure a fun day on the water that includes snorkeling. Will be in port from 1000-1900. I am aware of the speedboat options (Capt Bob, Billy Bones) and will go that route if I have to, but really hoping to find a good catamaran option instead. The ship, Celebrity, is not offering any snorkeling excursions on this particular trip.

Can anyone recommend a catamaran snorkel tour on St Maarten other than Eagle?

We are also going to be in St. Maarten toward the end of May on the Equinox and would like to book with Golden Eagle for their 6-hour snorkel tour. My problem is I can't get them to respond to any email communications? I have tried to paste their contact information into my personal email account as well as attempted to reach them directly through the "contact us" option on their webpage. Has anyone had difficulty getting them to respond? I am about to walk away from Golden Eagle and seek out another way to spend our money while on St. Maarten.

If anyone has any suggestions to reach them, I would appreciate it.

We were in St. Thomas in December 2017. Took ferry over to Water Island, quite easy to do and runs often. Only about a 10 minute trip. Two brothers from Wisconsin who have been down in St. Thomas for awhile run a jet ski business beach side at Water Island. Both very nice with a selection of different jet skis to pick from. I believe it was $65 per 30 minutes but they had many options including a 3 hour guided tour of the area. My son and I had a blast, would definitely consider it again when we return in May. I wouldn't let Havensight docking be a pediment. Very doable with plenty of time on the water.

.....and don't forget your beach towel. Assumed our day-pass fee would include a towel for the beach, but not the case. However, they will sell you a towel from the hotel gift shop.:confused:

can you rent jet skis at Megan’s bay?

If so how much?

Jet ski rental is available at Water Island. Quick 10 min ferry ride from Crown Bay.

Multiple options for rental, base price is $65.00/30 minutes.

Considering spending a half-day with this tour company while at Punta Cana on the Equinox May 25th. Would appreciate hearing if anyone has worked with this group and what their impressions were? Rated high on Trip Advisor, but have learned to trust the opinions of CC a bit more.:)

Recently checked with cruisett for an upcoming eastern Caribbean cruise and it was way off, not even recognizing the port changes that had been implemented weeks ago. Cruise time tables was up-to-date.