chemmo

I totally agree… It concerns me at present that so many guests I ‘know’ from CC as reliable and truthful are posting less than good and no where near excellent experiences.

Jim, I hope you are soon feeling better. You have had a hectic time even without taking on board the climate change. I must confess to feeling really annoyed for Iain about the wine…Excuses that things are not available when they are on board is not acceptable and as for trying to charge you….well!!! I remember sommelier service in Luminae being really slow one cruise and after our wine not arriving two nights running until our starters were nearly finished my late husband saying politely to the waiter “If our starter arrives and our wine hasn’t we will be sending it back…”. He said it pleasantly but firmly and when our starters arrived and we still had empty glasses he asked the waiter not to serve it. Our waiter was flustered and talked to the M’D who chased the sommelier….After that wine service did improve… Perhaps next visit to Luminae you order the wine you want and refuse to accept your meals until it is provided!

If you have a medical condition that means you can’t have products containing milk then discuss options with your waiter/M’D.

RS had a new sofa and chair and bedding. Curtains and carpets unchanged. Uncomfortable new outside furniture and a ridiculous number of cushions inside, none of which fitted comfortably on the outside chairs which had no cushions or padding….

Why not email Celebrity and ask for confirmation in a return mail that you are good to go and take a copy of it with you. Much better than getting to the port and ending up with staff discussing the situation. Whilst we have never been in a situation like yours if ever there is anything we feel could be a reason for dispute in terms of cost or provision of service we never rely on a phone call, we always ask for an email.

Yes, it isn’t the cost that annoys it is the knowing what you should/should not be charged for. I hate having to get into those sort of discussions with wait staff. I can clearly remember some years ago getting a bill for our adult son dining with us in Sushi. The waiter was insistent that the included speciality dining was for guests one and two only in RS and that guest three had to pay…I guess staff training comes into play too.

All Sushi on five is included. In our experience the surcharge items in Tuscan are not. Other things not included are special events like ‘dine with an officer’ and the Indian meal sometimes offered in Sushi. However we were not charged extra for the ‘sea food tower’ in the Porch… You may get different answers from different people. For example someone on our last Silhouette cruise said they were not charged for the better steaks in Tuscan but were for the seafood tower… My advice is to ask as you board (concierge or Luminae M’D) and go from there…Different ships seem to have different policies…

You can understand and forgive the odd shortage but it seems to be becoming the norm…

Thank you for such a thoughtful and well balanced account. A good thing you highlight is the benefit of getting a taste of a place on a cruise (India) and then deciding to return for a land tour. As you said in an earlier post, India isn’t for everybody…. I am so sorry your Retreat experience wasn’t better…We have over the years enjoyed many cruises where that extra service level was there and it has added an extra touch of luxury and magic to the cruise. Sadly a reflection of the changes that Celebrity has made. Sad to see the food was a bit hit and miss too…Really no excuse for hit and miss quality. Whilst we all find some venues suit us better than others for style and content quality should be consistent. Well welcome home! Enjoy the cuddles of your cats in the cold weather….I sit writing this with my little doggie sat on my knee, a furry hot water bottle…

Who do you plan to ‘pester’? If you are suggesting asking for a meeting with the Hotel Director to explain your concerns and disappointment then I think this is a great idea. The more guests who politely but firmly express they feel ‘short changed’ to those in a position to make changes or report back to corporate the better. However, I think the hosts/room attendants and concierge staff are having a rubbish time as it is at the moment the last thing in the world they need is a guest demanding services they have been instructed not to provide…

Silhouette received a full upgrade pre covid so is not as dated as her sisters. Equinox had a limited upgrade. Silhouette also, like Reflection, has the two additional restaurants of the Porch and Lawn Grill. If you are considering suites there is a suite deck with a jacuzzi, bar and a wide range of seating areas. I have not cruised E class so can not compare them to Silhouette but Silhouette has a lot to offer over her sisters…

Happy Birthday! What a mess boarding! A friend of mine with similar mobility issues to me (can walk but not too far, can stand but not for too long) said that she now is going to automatically book wheelchair boarding and disembarking because she is becoming increasingly concerned when travelling about growing queuing. She has just returned from a tour including cruises and land stays. As she stated, if you are not expecting a big queue you think you can manage, but then if you find yourself in one there seems to be no help available. Like most people with limited mobility I don’t want to take up wheelchair slots from those with conditions worse than mine but the nature of the system (or lack of it) is making travelling so much harder than it needs to be. If I had been in the scenario you have described the first few days of my cruise would have been spent trying to recover! At least you are on board now! Enjoy!

That really is a massive difference….To look at it another way it is three cruises for the price of one!

I think your question is well asked and totally see your point on butler changes. I think many higher suite guests on S and M class are doing some calculations too. Many of these ships haven’t been refreshed for years. If you book a higher suite you shouldn’t be worrying if your room will look shabby or need maintenance and I must confess I have some concerns about my Infinity cruise. Booking a suite experience on Celebrity has always offered… A superior room experience More personalised service A better dining experience Cutting corners on not maintaining ships diminishes the room experience, reducing/cancelling butler service for SS guests reduces significantly the personalised service which leaves Luminae…I guess it depends on what value you add to Luminae vs a speciality dining package….

Sadly it seems to be all too frequent. We have had similar situations twice. The first time four weeks before our cruise we received quite a challenging email saying if we didn’t pay the outstanding balance of £0.12 our cruise would be cancelled and on the second occasion an email saying if our outstanding balance of $0 wasn’t paid our cruise would be cancelled…even more bizarre as we had paid in £…On both occasions the staff had no idea where the emails had come from (generated). Staff were helpful and sorted things out but, as you say, didn’t seem the least surprised…On the positive side we did receive some extra OBC for our trouble the first time!

So sorry for your disappointment with Santosa…It is really gutting when you look forward to revisiting a place you have loved and find it spoiled. In the last few years we have revisited a few place we first saw forty years ago and have been upset by changes that have taken place… Much as we know not everywhere can be turned into world heritage sites and protected I think some thought needs to be taken in some areas. Particularly important to my mind are the ‘back street’ areas of many towns…the little shops, bars, restaurants that suddenly go and are replaced by an anonymous glass tower block. I think many cities are in danger of becoming historical facades but loosing their soul in the process. Thoroughly enjoying your adventures!

My morning coffee will not taste the same without being treated to your daily instalments! Sincere thanks for sharing your adventures with us. Safe journey home to you both!

So pleased you are sorted! Enjoy!

I think the difference between CC readers like ourselves and those that rarely or never read CC is that there are likely to be issues about expectations…If they last cruised Celebrity before the changes and did have the minibar filled, snacks provided and a butler available they may be shocked on boarding now. I think this could be especially true if they last cruised when the ships were sailing at low capacity and butlers did have time to do little extra things like bringing drinks. Like you, I would board expecting changes and adjust accordingly! So pleased you are enjoying your cruise so far…We loved Silhouette and are sad she is no longer cruising from the UK during the Summer season…

Agree, this is a fabulous picture!

Thank you for your review. Promising to do something and then not delivering is definitely worse than if they had said “Sorry we don’t deliver water and soda to suites anymore but please take some now and come back for more as you need it”. I am not surprised you didn’t see anyone else from the ‘team’ if you didn’t ask for it. The new set up is definitely responsive rather than proactive…. I do understand what you mean when you say the service was “less than”…I remember having a slightly “”less than” cruise on Reflection one year. We tried to put our finger on what was wrong we came to the conclusion that it was a combination of several small things… A butler who was less visible than usual… Concierge staff in the lounge who greeted us as Mr and Mrs Ummm three days into the cruise. Longer waits for drinks in the lounge, sometimes my husband’s lager being delivered immediately but then a wait for my Cosmopolitan… A sommelier in Luminae who came over and said “Red or white” with one bottle of each in his hands. Lack of attention to detail in the lounge (even when asked cognac coming in a tumbler)… All really petty but all combined they did show a casualness which hadn’t been our usual experience. Hard to know if your experience is a consequence of change or simply a lack of attention to detail by the staff on board…

I think I could enjoy a week on the aircraft…Food and seating look fabulous!

A couple of ideas spring to mind… Totally agree with the Asia options. Singapore and Hong Kong make great starting and finishing points for a South East Asia cruise. Great places in their own right for pre and post cruise stays…Happy memories of sailing into Halong Bay….magical… Alternatively why not combine a cruise with a land stay? Look at your itineraries for Scandinavian cruise (which I think start and end in Southampton or Amsterdam) for Celebrity then add in either a UK tour or a European tour. In the UK you could enjoy a few days in London then work out a pleasant slow route to Southampton visiting Windsor Castle, Winchester, Salisbury, Stonehenge and the New Forest (just a few possible options) before boarding in Southampton. In Europe, you could fly into Paris for a few days, perhaps then move on to Brussels for a few more days then move on to Amsterdam to pick up your cruise…Both of these options could be done as fly drive or by using trains/coaches. For the UK one I would suggest fly drive for the European one I would look at trains… We have done several holidays with land stays first and it works really well. Touring is tiring so finishing an intensive tour by boarding a cruise ship is always a pleasure…

It all depends on which Retreat perks are important to you…We have cruised both RS and PH on Eclipse and loved our cruises. The RS balcony is a good size and the room really well appointed. We enjoy the in suite bar set up and the unlimited speciality dining. When we have booked a ship with a Retreat deck we have used it very little usually preferring the Solarium. Given the choice of Silhouette or Eclipse I would choose Silhouette for the extra restaurants and the Retreat deck but it wouldn’t be a deal breaker. Personally now I am more concerned about the maintenance/condition of the ships that haven’t been updated rather than the addition of new facilities. Reviews on condition of these ships are varied. We are booked on Infinity next year and hope that during its short dry dock some painting and replacement of chairs etc happens. I can live with a bit of shabby but not if it has gone to tatty…

Well said, I think the art of enjoying cruising does involve ‘making the most’ of any given situation including late arrivals and the weather…