Big Chief

To keep it easy I ask you why bother?

 

And yes, i do understand if everyone did this the whole checkin at the pier would slow down a lot.

 

So didn't you just sort of answer your own question?

It's just hit or miss. It took me 3 tries over a week's time. Just another indication of the sorry state of Celebrity IT.

I have often wondered why the perks don't show up on the (web site) completed reservation form, especially after final payment? Last year my beverage package was not on my seapass and the Celebrity response was "call your travel agent", even though I had a copy of the TA invoice. You know how difficult it is to reach your TA on a Sunday (with the first 2 days as sea days)! It did work out, but I feel it would have been much simpler if any perks were included on the Celebrity paperwork.

"]When you go to a restaurant, your bill pays for the food, the cook, the server and everything else, ..."

 

I don't know what the rules are in Ottawa, but in New York State the law sets the minimum wage for restaurant servers at less than $3 an hour. Granted, this is based upon the long standing tradition of tipping, but it is, nonetheless, the reality.

My "warehouse" TA provides about a 7% "rebate" in the form of OBC. Many years ago I received the TA copy of a cruise (by accident); their commission was 16%.

For better or worse, this is a "Cruise Critic" forum!

 

A definition of "critic"

a person who expresses an unfavorable opinion of something.

"critics say many schools are not prepared to handle the influx of foreign students"

synonyms: detractor, attacker, fault-finder, backseat driver, gadfly

"critics of the government"

Norwegian Cruise Lines today announced a change in pricing for specialty restaurants. They are moving from a flat rate to an a la carte structure. With the way things are changing and a new CEO perhaps this could be in Celebrity's future?

Right out of college I worked as a customer service rep for a large corporation.

There was a category of customer inquiry called "Presidents Cases". Originating at CEO level, they were sent down the chain of command for resolution but stopped at the level of customer service supervisor with instructions to report a "resolution" back to upper management within 14 days.

Clearly this may not apply to Celebrity, but it might indicate that the normal complaint procedure/resolution is more "carefully" implemented.

[quote name='robcruz']Can someone tell me if there are any US vessels transporting passengers between two US ocean ports? If not, how does the PVSA save even one US job as far as the passenger shipping industry is concerned?[/QUOTE]

As "Kamloops50" pointed out, the PVSA principle is also applied to airlines (one could argue that airlines are the "successors" to steamships). Thus no foreign airline can setup domestic US air service (ie Lufthansa cannot fly the NY to Miami route etc.). The same "foreign" port rules apply.

I guess nobody on Celebrity drinks "rye" whiskey such as Seagrams 7 or Crown Royal etc?

Here's a revelation for you.

 

Itinerary and ports can CHANGE at anytime for whatever reason Celebrity chooses to use.

 

It's in your cruise contract.

 

If losing one port (not even losing an overnight - just a matter of hours!) on a 10+ day cruise is THAT important to you, then perhaps a land-based vacation going to the ports YOU select would be more suitable.

 

You'll have complete control of your vacation and you can go wherever you like, whenever you like.

 

When does one "receive" the cruise contract? If one were to book a cruise over the telephone with a travel agent, how does somebody "read" or agree to the contract? I realize the contract of carriage is "buried" deep in the Celebrity web site, but not everyone books online.

Perhaps the only rationale that would justify not awarding points, if the full fare is collected by Celebrity' is they also "calculate" the extra income received from a passenger(s) while on board. So with no on board purchases, the cruise line feels as if they lost revenue.

I don't agree with this position (since there are people who cruise and spend nothing on board) but it seems the only arguable excuse the line has.

Unfortunately, your husband probably couldn't have picked a worse port to take ill in. Beautiful island, but not many modern amenities.

 

Actually, I think just the opposite. There is a medical school (Ross University School of Medicine) on the island which trains many american students, as well as most of the physicians in the Caribbean.

I've always believed that a "teaching" hospital provides the best medical care. I am mindful that perhaps the OP was not treated at the Ross Hospital but to say that this is the worst port to take ill in, is just incorrect.

The words in the contract have little meaning when there are consumer protection laws as there are in the UK and EU. If all passengers were from the US, your comment would be appropriate. Unfortunately for Celebrity, they are not. The world does not revolve around the US policies and laws....

 

The folks in the US can just cancel with no penalty. Those in other geographies such as the UK can't...and they are the one's who, IMHO, have a right to question why Celebrity isn't allowing them to cancel with no penalty.

 

Some more contract language:

 

Carrier may also change accommodations, alter or cancel any activities of, deny service of alcohol to, confine to a stateroom or quarantine, search the stateroom, property or baggage of any Passenger, change a Passenger's Land Tour, disembark or refuse to embark the Passenger and/or any Passenger responsible for any minor Passenger, or restrain any

Passenger at any time, without liability, at the risk and expense of the Passenger, when in the sole opinion of Carrier or Captain the Passenger's conduct or presence, or that of any minor for whom the Passenger is responsible, is believed to present a possible danger, security risk or be detrimental to himself or the health, welfare, comfort or enjoyment of others,

or is in violation of any provision of this Agreement

 

"House Arrest/ Clap you in Irons"!!

 

Seriously....if one books with a travel agent and never visits the web site, how is the celebrity cruise contract provided to the passenger?

For what it's worth...was on a 14 day in Feb '15...three formal nights...saw EVERYTHING including tee shirt and jeans in MDR on each of the formal nights!

It's a complete nightmare, as is RCCL's.

 

And don't even get me started on trying to make dining reservations. Spent a solid hour, got halfway through in an hour, and it kicked me out and lost everything I did. Took about 5-10 minutes just to get from one day to another.

 

Ditto and double Ditto. I had the same experience trying to get dining reservations; spent 40 minutes on a laborious day by day process only to be "kicked off" after day eight of a fourteen day cruise. Wasted 40 minutes and ultimately called the captains club telephone to make the reservations.

What Celebrity does not realize is that an efficient website saves them money. I have often seen, on other commercial websites, a "parting shot" screen which asks for website feedback. This only reinforces the feeling that Celebrity manifests a certain corporate arrogance. (don't get me started on the new policy of Caribbean overnights due to overwhelming demand...it seems that Cruise Critic members, according to a forum poll, are AGAINST it by a margin of two to one).

Welcome to the club! It seems there is more inquiry about the drink package than anything else (well,maybe tipping). I think the best answer is...you really won't have a definite handle until you are on the ship. Celebrity has "monkeyed around" with list/drink price several times in last year or so. There is a definite price cap for the classic package; $8 for cocktails, $9 for wine and $6 for beer.

So I guess you have to wait and see what the current prices are when you board.

Just off the Eclipse (3/1). Lobster on the third and last "formal" night. The dress code, apparently, is "suggested", as I saw people in the MDR with T shirts and jeans on "regular" nights and some with no jackets or ties on "formal" nights.

Just off the Eclipse (3/1/15). Has an excellent 14 day cruise. Embarkation was smooth and Disembarkation (at 0800) was a breeze,(so much better than last year in FLL, 2 Hrs!) The ship was spotless, the service first rate, food was good (not great), entertainment was enjoyable (the cast "Broadway" review was very well done), the weather was terrific, the drink package worked very well. All in all a good cruise.

Only one observation; I did observe jeans and tee shirts in the MDR for dinner and several persons without ties or jackets on formal nights (mindful that it is only a suggestion).

First I want to state clearly that those in the service industry work hard and deserve fair compensation.

But......Why is it always a percentage? At a restaurant one couple order chicken and soft drinks, another order steak and wine; one check is $60, while the other is $90. Did not the server work equally as hard for both couples? Why should one gratuity be $11 while the other is $16? Serving a Coke, a beer, or a scotch on the rocks, all take about the same effort; why different gratuities?

I agree that the practice is a little antiquated and perhaps need to be refined. In some cases, stock brokerages have gone to a flat fee concept (never made any sense to me for the selling/buying fee on a $100 stock should be twice that of a $50 stock) Perhaps a flat rate service charge is more appropriate.

Now, I will attract all the flamers! Why is the travel agent commission on a suite so much more than an inside cabin; is it that much more work?

I must be missing something....why are e-docs even necessary; they are nothing more than a statement of dates, itinerary, cabin, etc. as well as the "contract of carriage" (which I doubt anymore than 2% of the guests read).

The important (but not crucial) document is the Express Pass, as that expedites check in at the pier.

So don't worry about edocs!

I don't know....on the one hand I understand that people were going in with expectations of a more extensive package but ...you are not paying extra for it.. .

 

Do you really think that you are "not paying extra"? Look at the pricing structure history; the same cruise is hundreds of dollars less expensive when the 123 promotion is not active. Celebrity gives nothing away for "free"!

Generally speaking, the obstruction (lifeboats) is generally straight down view. there is nothing obstructing straight ahead views. I have had obstructed views before and have not found them a hindrance.

We book our flight planning to leave two days in advance so if the morning we're suppose to leave the weather is awfull and our flight canceled, we're ready to jump in our car and drive to FFL. It gives us the 30 hours needed to arrive on time

 

The real issue is..when does the storm hit"? If it hits the day of the cruise you are obviously out of luck; but if you plan to go on the day before and the storm hits then, you still would probably be out of luck since your flight was cancelled and you would be flying "standby" the next day, since you don't have a reservation, an iffy proposition.

Probably the only reasonable guarantee is the 48 hour rule, preserving one's ability to drive.

I missed a departure under the exact circumstances and missed the entire cruise. The first port was Grand Cayman (3 days into the cruise) and we could not get confirmed seats, the next port was Cartegena (5 days into the cruise. We were lucky as the insurance company allowed us to cancel.

If one removes the charged gratuities so they can pay in cash the staff is obligated to turn the cash into the pool it otherwise would have gone to

 

I do not wish to impugn the hard working staff, but what is the mechanism (other than the honor system) to ensure the staff member "turns the cash in"? I believe it to be better to allow "auto" tipping with cash supplement where appropriate.