IS Celebrity service better than all the rest??

[Vernipper]

I just got off the Summit and I felt that the service was excellent.

It would seem to me that the goal of every cruise line would be to give its guests excellent service.

I would expect that the directive to ALL crew members on every cruise line would be the same?

Why then, is Celebrity service so much better than all the other mass market lines, or is it just a belief or perception Celebrity offers “better service”??????????????

 

Maybe, if your told enough times that the service the best, you tend to believe its true.

[gbearbuck]

It might be their hiring practice. I don't think I've met any employee where this was their first cruise job.

[firstplacechef]

We have cruises RCL, Carnival, and NCL along with X. We do feel we have better service on X, with RCL a following a close 2nd. Our 2 cruises on Carnival were great and the service was also good, but not as personable. Don't get me started with NCL, never a smile, and always a maybe or no as an answer to a question.

 

I agree that the hiring and training of employees is of the utmost importance. For us, it just seems that X employees seem to go out of their way to please you and make you feel you are a "Celebrity". Not an employee of X here and we have had some minor problems on some X cruises, but heck, I have minor problems most days at work too! :)

[packed&ready!]

I think it is better than the other cruise lines we have sailed.

[Bridge Maven]

It depends upon what is important to you.

 

Celebrity has more crew per passenger so their cabin sewards come to your cabin more frequently, and waiters in the main dining room have more time to chat with the passengers that they serve.

 

However, as far as keeping a cabin clean. responding to issues that arise during a cruise, and having good service in the dining room, based on our experience, that varies more within a cruise line than between cruise lines. I have experienced excellent service on every cruise line we have sailed and have also experienced mediocre service on the same cruise lines.

[C 2 C]

I believe Celebrity has a better on board training program than any other cruiseline. We have cruised with HAL, Princess, RCL, NCL and Celebrity. We switched from other lines to Celebrity because of the consistency of the smiles and excellent service. Judge the lines by the friendliness of the people who don't receive a tip from you. It is an exceptional moment when the treatment on board a Celebrity is not Xellent. Now if only Celebrity's shoreside staff would have the same instructors..;)

[Host Kewlguy]

We don't feel the service is much different on either Royal Caribbean or Celebrity. We think it's mostly perception. Same with the food.

[Woobstr112G]

It depends upon what is important to you.

 

Celebrity has more crew per passenger so their cabin sewards come to your cabin more frequently, and waiters in the main dining room have more time to chat with the passengers that they serve.

 

However, as far as keeping a cabin clean. responding to issues that arise during a cruise, and having good service in the dining room, based on our experience, that varies more within a cruise line than between cruise lines. I have experienced excellent service on every cruise line we have sailed and have also experienced mediocre service on the same cruise lines.

 

I totally agree.....:):):)

 

Bob

[aloanldy]

We've encountered great employees on Celebrity who actually seem really happy to be working there. We encountered happy employees on other lines who feel like their job is just a job.

 

Everyone has bad days but when the employee isn't happy it spreads to the customers. What ever Celebrity is doing...they're doing it right!

 

Charlie

[flvol77]

We don't feel the service is much different on either Royal Caribbean or Celebrity. We think it's mostly perception. Same with the food.

 

perception is reality

 

We were shocked at the level of service by Celebrity, Princess isn't bad but Celebrity was amazing, and that amazing service has continued through our booking of our second Celebrity cruise in a little over three months.

 

At this point in time we have no plans on going back to Princess or any other line as long as we can find a Celebrity ship for the date we want to cruise.

[Host Kewlguy]

perception is reality

 

We were shocked at the level of service by Celebrity, Princess isn't bad but Celebrity was amazing, and that amazing service has continued through our booking of our second Celebrity cruise in a little over three months.

 

At this point in time we have no plans on going back to Princess or any other line as long as we can find a Celebrity ship for the date we want to cruise.

 

That's YOUR opinion and YOUR reality. One which I don't share.

[Longtonian]

There's no doubt that Celebrity's level of service is excellent, but I wonder at what cost for the staff themselves. Last year on the Millennium we witnessed a member of waiting staff being dressed down by his "superior" within our earshot; it wasn't pleasant and it wasn't professional. Our waiter in the MDR was lovely and couldn't do enough to help us, but seemed extremely nervous and terrified of making a mistake. This made us wonder if staff, particularly junior ones, are put under an uncomfortable amount of pressure from above to perform. We feel very sorry for them if this is the case; they have my total admiration for their continued professionalism and dedication to service.

[MiamiSpartan]

We've had great service on Celebrity, but we've also had surprisingly good service on RCCL, Carnival, and NCL...The only trip we've ever had below average service was on HAL...My expectations were higher for that line, but we were very disappointed, and frankly, we aren't all that picky....But we would still try them again...

[flvol77]

That's YOUR opinion and YOUR reality. One which I don't share.

 

Who said you had to share it? All I said was perception is reality - don't get all excited by yelling in caps.

 

Unfortunately many times perception is reality, good or bad. The good thing is this case for us is that Celebrity was better than any of the other cruise lines we have been on including Royal. Maybe its was because we ate in the Blu every morning and night and the service and food was excellent.

[Esprit]

According to the Celebrity Employees handbook within the section on clothing the most important thing to wear is a.........smile.

 

They also recruit raw individuals with no prior experience but spend a lot of time training them up whilst on board.

[Keith1010]

I do think that one of the core strengths of Celebrity is indeed their service.

 

Keith

[woodofpine]

I just got off the Summit and I felt that the service was excellent.

It would seem to me that the goal of every cruise line would be to give its guests excellent service.

I would expect that the directive to ALL crew members on every cruise line would be the same?

Why then, is Celebrity service so much better than all the other mass market lines, or is it just a belief or perception Celebrity offers “better service”??????????????

 

Maybe, if your told enough times that the service the best, you tend to believe its true.

 

X isn't "so much better" that's just your perception... Nice to hear you had a great cruise on Summit. Most of your post sounds like cruise line management talk (to media, pax, and yes, crew). My first cruise with X was on Summit.

 

The cruise line mistakenly misbooked and separated my family's cabins (and yes it was the line's mistake since I sat with my TA as he made the booking). On board, guest rel denied the cabins weren't adjacent! (Neither ashore or onboard did they know their own deck plan!) When shown that the cabins most certainly were separate, staff scowled and began the incessant, "So sorry, we can do nothing" chorus. Desk staff vehemently refused to allow me to speak to senior staff managers to induce some effort to fix the problem. Could it be fixed? I finally managed to arrange a cabin swap on my own... Boy were quest rel miffed when they were asked to swap account-keys... (Great service!) When I asked that a $50 cabin credit be given (none for me) to the inconvenienced other cabin that spent 1-2 hours of embark afternoon being gracious ("No - only Miami can authorize"), when I asked to speak to upper management ("No. Well OK - wait... No.") "But we will send champagne and hors d'ouvres to them." Did they? No. That was my welcome to X. For inexplicable reasons, they made us move MDR tables on night #2 (good thing, it greatly improved so-so table service...) Another more 'plebian' line did that once, moving table (no big deal) but offered free selection of wines that night...

 

Another competing line sent two staffers through Barcelona with a separate vehicle to get a disabled senior family members refrigerator sized mobility gear onto their ship there (standard transfer charge)... and repeatedly went the extra yard on that cruise. Wrestling with that equipment in an embarkation terminal on X (cruise #2) X staffers watched for awhile before finally offering help...

 

So - yeah it is a matter of experience and perspective. X is a good line when things are "firing on all cylinders", but they are sub par in dealing with problems of their own making - in my experience.

 

Just my counterbalance to the inevitable X gushing...

[Denny01]

Interesting reading this early so much existential discussions on reality and perception! And of course, postive comments are

'just your perception' and 'management talk' while poor service stories are 'reality'.

 

Denny

[Denny01]

Woodofpine - thought about your experience with not getting adjacent cabins. From my 'perspective', I'd agree 'X' should have fixed the problem prior to the cruise to get your adjacent cabins, but once on board, are you suggesting 'X' ask your neighbors to move to get you adjacent cabins? If I was the manager in that situation, I don't think I would ask people who had a cabin to move to another one for someone else's convience...providing goodies or not, just not a good practice to start. You then get into the 'I want one further forward, aft, mid-ship, near the elevator, further from the elevator.......'

 

Good that you had accomodating neighbors, but I don't think it would be good business practice for the ship to start moving cabins around once set up. Again, agree that it should have been taken care of much earlier, but once on board, not a good idea because everyone who wants a change has a legit rationale, and when they hear its done for you, there will be 50+ standing in line demanding the same service - "move that guy from the room I want to the room I don't want, and do it Now!"

 

And by the way, why would you ask 'X' to provide your accomodating neighbors any benefits/goodies for moving when you are the one who asked them? I would think it more appropriate for you to do such a thing, not the ship. I have a feeling the ship doesn't want people asking others to move their cabins. I'm sure you were very nice about it, but we can all perceive people who aren't so nice and get pushy on getting what they want. And the ship may be trying to protect those that can be intimidated by those types.

 

Just a thought.

 

Denny

[Bridge Maven]

We've had great service on Celebrity, but we've also had surprisingly good service on RCCL, Carnival, and NCL...The only trip we've ever had below average service was on HAL...My expectations were higher for that line, but we were very disappointed, and frankly, we aren't all that picky....But we would still try them again...

 

 

Miami, I feel exactly the same way and that might have had to do with expectations, as well.

 

On HAL we had one of the nicest cabins we ever had with twin bathroom sinks and separate bath and shower stall, but the service in the main dining room was so bad that after a few days we decided to eat the rest of our meals at the buffet. Their specialty restaurant was also disappointing. HAL is the only cruise line my husband will never take again.

 

We took an NCL cruise last year because it had the best itinerary to Bermuda at the time, but was concerned it would be a step down from what we were use to. To our pleasant surprise the food was very good in most of its restaurants and its French restaurant was comparable to the specialty restaurant on Celebrity. When we tried to book an island tour on NCL we were put on a waiting list, and then they put the six of us, who were on the waiting list into a van, so it was like a private tour.

 

I love RCCL Radiance class ships and consider them to be comparable to Celebrity.

[Coolcruise02]

We don't feel the service is much different on either Royal Caribbean or Celebrity. We think it's mostly perception. Same with the food.

 

Totally agree!!

 

After reading these boards and all the raving about Celebrity we decided to try for ourselves. (twice) Not impressed! No better service or food than the other cruise lines. Highly over rated IMHO.

[New Hampshire]

.Cruise #20 is coming up in less than two weeks. In my cruising experience and IMO, Celebrity service has surpassed that of any other cruiseline I've sailed on. I no longer desire to sail on anything but Celebrity. I've had a great time on every cruise I've taken, but for me, Celebrity has always been superior regarding SERVICE onboard the ship.

[iancal]

I think that the term 'service', is very relative. If you look on the HAL or Princess boards you will probably find that most people on those boards feel that their favorite line has the best service. Same for food.

 

We have been on Princess. Celebrity, HAL, RCI, Carnival, NCL, and Crystal. In the last two years it has been on Princess, HAL, and Celebrity. We find the service to be very good on all three and I do not know if we could distinguish any one as being superior to the others. I think service and food varies not only by cruise line, but also by ship and crew within that cruiseline.

[Coolcruise02]

Celebrity has always been superior regarding SERVICE onboard the ship.

 

Superior to whom? Since 1999 you have only been on one cruise that was not Celebrity.

 

I'm not questioning the fact you are very happy with Celebrity, that is great! To say you are happy with a product is one thing, but to say it is superior to others when you haven't tried anything else doesn't make since.

[woodofpine]

Woodofpine - thought about your experience with not getting adjacent cabins. From my 'perspective', I'd agree 'X' should have fixed the problem prior to the cruise to get your adjacent cabins, but once on board, are you suggesting 'X' ask your neighbors to move to get you adjacent cabins? If I was the manager in that situation, I don't think I would ask people who had a cabin to move to another one for someone else's convience...providing goodies or not, just not a good practice to start. You then get into the 'I want one further forward, aft, mid-ship, near the elevator, further from the elevator.......'

 

Good that you had accomodating neighbors, but I don't think it would be good business practice for the ship to start moving cabins around once set up. Again, agree that it should have been taken care of much earlier, but once on board, not a good idea because everyone who wants a change has a legit rationale, and when they hear its done for you, there will be 50+ standing in line demanding the same service - "move that guy from the room I want to the room I don't want, and do it Now!"

 

And by the way, why would you ask 'X' to provide your accomodating neighbors any benefits/goodies for moving when you are the one who asked them? I would think it more appropriate for you to do such a thing, not the ship. I have a feeling the ship doesn't want people asking others to move their cabins. I'm sure you were very nice about it, but we can all perceive people who aren't so nice and get pushy on getting what they want. And the ship may be trying to protect those that can be intimidated by those types.

 

Just a thought.

 

Denny

 

In defense of poor service and customer rel (the line thanks you Denny).

 

Specifically, we had an inside quad and a veranda directly across from it on Summit's Vista deck. There is only one 'layer' of interior cabins at this point in the ship with doors accessing from one passageway (numbering is strange) but not the other. The booking was made with the discussion that the cabins were directly across the passageway from each other - a family; the kids in one, parents in the other scenario. In fact, the doors were in separate passageways of the ship (same deck) some 100-200 feet apart.

 

In sum, this wasn't a matter of a pushy passenger wanting to change locations arbitrarily (obviously the line can't assist or condone that) and your speculation that fixing a problem would cause some avalanche ('when they hear... 50+') is nonsense. This was a case where the line misbooked and mislocated a family cabin booking. The line made goof was discovered by incoming passenger. Apparently, expecting an effort to correct matters was my mistake (I did get something 'superior' though; it was attitude - not service).

 

If I was the manager in that situation, I don't think I would ask people who had a cabin to move to another one for someone else's convience...providing goodies or not, just not a good practice to start.

 

Your NO 'can do' attitude, unwillingness to lift a finger to correct a significant mistake of its own making was shared by the line. Sorry Denny - That is NOT superior service (or trouble shooting).

 

The cabins sought to be 'swapped' were amenity/category/ship location identical. One being a veranda at a specific point on the Vista deck starboard side, the other the identical point veranda on the port side. With passengers not unpacked and available (in your view) I expected too much of this 'superior service' line to have them engage, take charge, and solve a solveable problem they created.

 

Yes - they do have a variety of modest inducements (from perks to modest OBC) to 'make it so' and impress the inconvenienced with their abilities - or at least TRY. They didn't impress. They steadfastly refused to take charge and solve the problem they created. Increasing my quiet ire was their refusal to allow a reasonable discussion with supervisors. You're right, having forced the customer to solve it for them, expecting more than a put out 'superior' attitude was probably a mistake on my part. :rolleyes:

 

And yah - I bought the nice folks that changed cabins drinks... But why was I sweeping up Celeb's booking mess? Shouldn't they have demonstrated some professional service initiative and ability?? This isn't Motel6 is it?

 

First impressions are powerful.