commodoredave

12 hours ago, DavyWavey70 said:

I’d disagree tfred. I Recently took my first Celebrity cruise in January and had an amazing time. I Booked it because of itinerary and also not being fleeced as a solo. Where they have got it so wrong is the utter arrogance of the scheme. They really believe their “esteemed guests” are thicker than slurry. They should have introduced a scheme with level points across the board. This many Silversea nights equals this many points, this many Celebrity nights equals this many and so on. Insulting your guests that have spent the most by offering them absolutely nothing whilst offering huge upgrades to those that have spent very little really isn’t a great strategy. Laziness and greed. It is the most bizarre loyalty scheme that I have ever witnessed and indeed the only loyalty scheme I’ve ever seen that encourages their biggest spenders to just walk away. 

You have stated this issue perfectly, and I agree 100%.

7 hours ago, complawyer said:

commodore dave, sorry old buddy, you still havent addressed the issue, knowing that any given restaurant

 was unavailable during the time you chose to cruise, and given sufficient time to cancel with no penalty, would you cancel the entire cruise.

 

by the way, technically, you paid for a cabin on a cruise ship. unless you specifically booked a reservation ahead of time, there was no guarantee that you'd be eating at le bistro.

i imagine, some people can go the entire length of their cruise, and not spend extra money on a specialty restaurant. 

and really, sir, how many nights did you  intend to eat at le bistro? come on, it's just a minor inconvenience.

 

look at it from the other perspective, since it's reserved for a charter group, are the people in the group forced to eat there every night? seems like your argument isnt getting much support from other cc posters.

 

tell you what. if we're on a cruise together, and le bistro is unavailable, dinner  at cagneys is on me!

I have no choice at this point as we have booked 3 cabins, paid for 8 non-refundable airfares, and paid for 8 non-refundable trip cancellation insurance policies for the cruise. So cancelling would cost several thousand dollars. Maybe I should declare our group as a charter and take over Cagney’s for the cruise!😀

57 minutes ago, complawyer said:

commodore dave. so it still begs the question.. given advance notice (more than 120 days) allowing you to cancel your booking, would you  cancel knowing that you couldnt eat in a specific restaurant. if your answer is yes, ( and i acknowledge that everyone's idea what  they want from a cruise, or any vacation differs) you sail for completely different reasons than my wife and I.

 

personally, it wouldnt change my booking, even  if all the specialty restaurants were somehow unavailable. ive posted many times before, i cruise based on itinerary and the prices offered.

if need be, i can be satisfied eating at the buffet, or mdr's. Not my 1st choice, but they will all suffice in a pinch.

 

If your answer is "no" i dont believe you have a legitimate complaint.

 

regardless, the failure of le bistro to be available (again, imho) isnt a major, or even a minor problem., merely a simple annoyance! so if you really feel, after all else about the cruise is taken into consideration (price, itinerary, cabin, other eating venues, services that are available) that you are being "screwed" you have my sympathy

I have paid for something that is no longer available. Instead, a charter group will be enjoying it. Maybe next week another charter will take over the observation lounge. And maybe next month another group will take over something else. Where do you draw the line? 

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Where in the Terms and Conditions, the Cruise Contract, does the cruise line promise the guest access to any and all facilities?

It’s implied given the many references, photos and descriptions. Which is why a disclaimer stating that some may not be available should be placed upfront in the purchase process. 

22 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Do you  think there should be a warning on all cruises for each specialty dining stating that this restaurant may not be available for any specific night?  If that's good, then should there be a similar warning for any feature?  For example, should there be warnings that the go-carts may not be operating?  Or warnings about the non-availability for specific wines or beverages? Or, perhaps a warning that a specific dish may or maynot be available on all days or at all seatings?  

 

Where does this end?

If passengers are paying for a cruise expecting they will get what they paid for, then yes they should know that may not be the case before making final payment.

22 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm guessing (as one of the "victims" 🤣 ) I could call NCL, demand that they "do something," ask to escalate, blah, blah, blah and if I expended enough energy they might throw me $100 OBC to get me to shut up and go away.  I'm probably not going to do this, because I just don't really care.  Us steerage passengers can be happy in most cruise situations.  Of course, they did run out of Guinness in the brewhouse one sailing.  Now THAT is a crisis.  I was probably part of the root cause, so......oh well.😎

 

The one time they did give me $100 OBC was on a sailing where without explanation they just decided to move me from my carefully selected inside cabin (the ones that only sleep two) to some other one that likely had two pullman beds hanging off the walls.  Ultimately, I called back another day and a very helpful agent moved us to yet another inside cabin that wound up being the nicest I've ever enjoyed.  I believe it was on the Sun.  It had a full couch and about twice the closet space (which I really don't use) as most. Like I said, I can be happy in most situations on the ship.

Sounds like you should have demanded a free world cruise as compensation.😀

2 minutes ago, complawyer said:

commodore dave.. while people looking forward to having at least 1 meal in le bistro, may be thoroughly disappointed,  i highly doubt the closure of this venue can hardly be construed as "screwing" the passenger!

 

Would you really not book a cruise if you found out one of the restaurants was unavailable during your cruise?  yes, i might miss the lobster thermidor (but not the upcharge) or the escargots, but i think i could survive for the duration. guess i'll have to suffer through cagney's , moderno, or the haven restaurant. poor me!

Screwing the passenger refers to cruise lines that close down any public venue for private use for the entire cruise without any consideration to others. This possibility should be made more prominent in the booking process.

As for closing Le Bistro, if the menu was made available elsewhere (including room service), I would have no complaints. However, NCL doesn’t give a damn.

On 9/6/2024 at 5:55 PM, david_sobe said:

Yes if you remember it was the observation lounge on some ship.  The passengers fought back and NCL only restricted for certain hours during the day.  Originally it was going to be closed the entire cruise.

I am concerned how the passengers will survive an entire week without imitation French food.

As someone who grew up in Montreal and spent many summers in France, I have enjoyed the French food served in the Le Bistro. I agree, however, that it may not be up to the standard you have enjoyed at Golden Griddle or Applebees.

On 9/6/2024 at 1:47 PM, RocketMan275 said:

 

The group (which might be a commercial group such as Mark West) is already paying NCL for the priviledge of having Le Bistro all the cruise.  This is fairly common.  For example, HAL allowed a group to have exclusive use of their enclosed observation lounge while the cruise has transiting Glacier Bay.  Another cruise line allowed a group to have exclusive access to the MDR for late seating.  There are other examples.  No compensation given. The cruise contracts do not guarantee access to any onboard activity to any passenger.

BTW, I'm not defending these cruise line practices, only pointing out that this is not a rare thing.

I know that cruise lines are entitled to screw most passengers in favour of charter groups, but perhaps this should be more prominently displayed when people are booking.

7 minutes ago, tfred said:

X an RC are different animals compared to Silversea. Pax would only go “Down “ when with adult children or grandchildren 

Not true. We recently did a Celebrity cruise in May to Bermuda with friends because it was the best itinerary and value. And we are off in 2 weeks for a trans-Atlantic on Princess. Of course, we can afford larger suites in the restricted areas on these mass market lines which has some appeal. 

2 hours ago, tfred said:

The celebrity program has accelerators for staying in a suite “The Retreat”, so it is more than just nights   A few cruises in an X suite and you can be at 250 days 

 

the Silversea status match is really just to keep celebrity pax from drifting to Seabourne et al when moving up. 

So why even bother to offer Silversea clients a status match if it’s only to persuade people to move up, not down?

2 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

Of course. I'm not sure that fairness forms any part in the decision-making process. 

It would appear you are correct.

2 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

I think they are keener to get people across to SS. The flow in the other direction would be, I posit, minimal. 

If the flow the other direction would be minimal, then it would cost almost nothing to make the status points equal while still making it look fair. 

10 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

It's little to do with loyalty and a lot to do with filling expensive SS cabins. 

I get that. And frankly, I think a status match program is great, and we have certainly benefited from it. My point is that it is not an equal status match. For example, while 32 days with Celebrity gets us 100 days status with Silversea, 80 days with Silversea gets us nada with Celebrity. Basically RCL is saying that days at sea with Celebrity are worth triple the days at sea with Silversea. 

Two days ago, which was 20 days out from the start of our cruise, we received notice that our bid had been accepted. Our bid was in the Fair category for an upgrade from a balcony cabin to a Signature Suite.

10 days prior, our bid had disappeared from our booking and we thought it must have been declined and there was no longer availability. However, we later received notice that it had been accepted. 

After trying many different hotels in FL over the years, we have settled on the Riverside on Las Olas Blvd. It's more expensive, but the location is close to lots of great restaurants, bars and shops. And it backs onto the river.

10 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

Agreed.  I made Elite with Celebrity after 3 sailings (22 total days) due to sailing in upper level suites.  That is now matched to VS 250 on Sliversea.  

 

Intrigued by our newfound status, we almost booked our first Silversea sailing through the Panama Canal this December, but ultimately chose a different line because we did not want to disembark in Lima, Peru during rainy season.

 

 

We enjoyed out 3 nights in Lima following a flight from Guayaquil after our Silversea Galapagos cruise. But that was in December, and the weather was nice. By the way, despite the sky-high price for our Galapogos cruise, we did not receive any extra nights bonus for it. I wonder if that will change given the status match. 

10 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

What if this is Mark West (as rumored) that's taking over the location.  There is a history of Mark West taking over a location for a complete cruise which allows them to set up their displays one time and to limit access.

Isn't that what is happening? Le Bistro is being taken over for the whole cruise. I just want the French food menu...don't care which location I get it. 

Just now, julig22 said:

Then perhaps a simple request to NCL would be appropriate. It never hurts to ask.

Good idea. I would also be happy if the Le Bistro menu was available for room service. 

4 minutes ago, Menocchio said:

Le Bistro isn't 20% of the ship. It's not even 20% of the specialty dining options. 

I get that this is annoying, but let's have some perspective here. This is such a small inconvenience that any goodwill gesture commensurate with the actual cost to guests would just seem insultingly cheap. This isn't even in the same universe as closing the observation lounge during a cold weather scenic cruise. 

Any venue closed for private use should result in an offset for other passengers. There are many creative ways to compensate for it with very little cost. Once again, it's the thought that counts. 

4 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Would you be satisfied if NCL offered the same menu in a different specialty restaurant? 

BUt then I'm on the side of give it to a large group so they won't take over the rest of the ship.

I would be very satisfied if the Le Bistro menu was offered in another restaurant. I have no objection to the charter group taking over the Le Bistro location. My issue is that the food they serve is one of my favourites -- not the location. 

On 7/7/2024 at 3:48 PM, Dolcevita Diva said:

 

Actually, even less than that. Celebrity launched a program in 2020 that allows one to earn points by watching a webinar, reading a brochure, taking a survey, etc. Smart way to keep passengers engaged while cruising was shut down. 

 

I poked around in the Celebrity Forum and read part of the thread about this Power Up Points program. Ten points earned through this program convert to 1 Club point.  An enterprising soul had prepared a spreadsheet of all the opportunities to earn these points and how many Captain's Club points they would convert to.  Based on that spreadsheet, it appears that anyone who participated in all of the options could have earned 122 Captain's Club points - and 150 points gives you Select status which would be matched to Venetian Society 100 days. 

 

So according to my understanding of how Celebrity awards points based on cabin category, someone who went all in on the Power Up program would be eligible to receive free laundry and a 5% discount on bookings on Silversea after sailing for only 6 days in a Concierge or Aquaclass cabin or 4 days in one of the SkySuite class cabins (which seem to be the most comparable to Silversea's verandas suites in size and cost per day).   

My wife has taken 3 Celebrity cruises (I've done 4) for a total of 32 days. She has Select status, which equates to VS 100 days. She has taken 7 Silversea cruises (I've done 8 cruises) for a total of 80 days, which equates to basic entry level with Celebrity. So, her 3 cruises and 32 days with Celebrity gets her a status level match with Silversea that she couldn't have achieved with 7 cruises and 80 days with Silversea. And her 7 cruises and 80 days with Silversea gives her nothing in terms of status match with Celebrity. Whoever thought up this system understands very little of rewarding loyalty. 

26 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

There is no guarantee that anyone will be able to dine in any restaurant.  Why should they give compensation in this case and not when the restaurant is sold out?  After all, there is little difference between sold out and closed.

There is indeed a difference between sold out and closed. Sold out means I missed my opportunity to book it -- fair enough. Closed means I never had an opportunity to book it. As for compensation, none is legally required; but something, however small, would show NCL cares about passengers. Even my small, neighbourhood pub would do something. 

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Encore can have as many as 3958 passengers.  Suppose Le Bistro can have 158 Guests.  Your solution would cost NCL $114,000.  

Ok.Maybe they give us $15 per cabin, flowers, or a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine. Anything that shows NCL has an interest in goodwill, which they apparently do not.

Re: complaints. We've had a few disappointments on cruises, but never enough to make it a bad cruise. We try to judge our cruises based on the total experience, not isolated incidents. As a result, we have always left happy.

Re: cruises don't spend enough time in ports to allow passengers to experience them. Cruises, by their nature, give people a "taste" of various places rather than a "complete" experience. That's why we always spend extra time pre- or post-cruise to allow extra time in places we want to see more thoroughly. For example, on a recent Norway cruise that ended in Tromso, we flew to Bergen to spend 3 more days there despite it being a port call. We then took the train to Oslo and spent 4 days there. We've also gone back to special places we discovered on cruises as a land trip including Rome, Barcelona, Cinque Terra, Scotland, etc.