What just happened!!!! Upgrade Fairy?????

[Jade13]

I too was upgraded from inside $99 cabin (I had two cabins) to cabin 7201 Family Veranda.

This cruise was my worst ever.

 

I loved the cabin, it was great. It had a separate sleeping area for my daughter and her friend, one is 12 and the other is 13. The deck was 250 sq. ft. and the cabin was 271 sq. ft. The aft is the best location.

 

My issues started right before the Muster Drill when we came to find that all four of our keys didn't work and my Muster Station was different than the other 3 of us in the cabin. After the drill we had to wait on a long line and then another 15 mins for Guest Relations to re-do the keys. Upon arrival back to the room, we noticed that I of the children’s keys was not labeled with the Soda Pkg. So I had to get on line again and ask them to make a new key. Again after arriving at the cabin we found that that new child’s key didn't work. Had to go back again, wait in line and get yet another key card, I hate to bore you but this going back and forth happened 6 times and in total I and my family wasted 1 hour and 30 minutes in total at Guest Relations resolving cabin key issues.

 

Funny thing - if not ridiculous is when I was asked if I was carrying a Magnet in my Purse.

 

My neighbors in cabin 7199 (Hey I wonder if they are on this board?) they had a Grand ole time in their end unit FAMILY Veranda. I was told by the guest Relations after I had to call Security on them for starting their loud party at 1:00 AM with blasting music that there were one woman and two men registered in that cabin. After Security couldn't get them to come to the door after ringing the door bell, ringing the phone and pounding at the door - Security just left. Thank god they lowered the music so they made sure we could hear the orgy they were having until 4:00 AM. Multiple Men and at least two left at 4:00 when I guess the party was over.

 

These people were UNBELIEVABLE. Absolutely didn't give a crap about anyone else.

 

 

kaitlynangel, we were on this cruise with you and it was what we expected as far as being a booze cruise for many. When you have a cheap short cruise some of the clientele is not going to be what you would find on a longer cruise. We ran into some people who were on their first cruise as well and basically lost on the ship.

 

We got what we wanted out of the cruise because we went as we needed one more cruise to become Elite, which will benefit us on our 15 night transatlantic this December. We actually flew in for the cruise using FFmiles, some which were about to expire, as well as stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66 in FLL the night before using a voucher that we had.

 

We understand the aggravation regarding the Key Cards because we had problems with multiple keys on our first Century cruise and I was the one running back and forth to Guest Relations. I think one time we had the same issue with the missing soda card sticker. But, we had the same issue on a HAL cruise as well. It was the one time that we wished that we had had a butler as on Celebrity they give you the number for their cell phone.

 

What we did different is that we paid more for a Suite QTY and thought it was a good value at $150.00 per diem. We ended up in a lovely Sky Suite (one of the nicest we have ever had with larger bathroom with tub), in a very quiet corridor on Deck 6. We heard no sounds either night, and the halls were quiet too. Our Suite was complete with all of the amenities, including the upgraded extras that we have found in the AQU cabins on other Celebrity ships (facial mist, lip balm), leather key card holders, upgraded tote bags, slippers (we had to ask for them), very nice flowers, a room steward who called us by name both days and great Butler who served us afternoon tea (they bring around a cart) and cheese and crackers.

 

I actually went and had acupuncture (something I said I would never do on a ship, but after speaking to the acupuncturist realized she knew what she was doing) for pain management for an injury that I had before I embarked. I only bring this up because there was a signup sheet and in the place for the name someone (or multiple people) had scribbled both racist and anti-Semitic comments, neither of which can be repeated here and none that I have ever seen on any cruise ship.

 

After an hour walk through Nassau (been there before) my DH and I spent the day between going to Trivia and going back to our stateroom before the next round of Trivia, so we avoided the rowdy deck party.

 

You can't judge Celebrity on this one short experience.

[CRUISENAV8R]

Thanks Sloop-JohnB for the insight

[bighairtexan]

Not saying that this is what happened w/ the OP. However, my DD kept having her card repeatedly demagnetized... Multiple times a day. I also asked her if she had anything magnetic in her purse OR if her purse had a magnetized clasp. Low and behold, her Tory Burch clutch had a snap closure but the snap was also magnetized to make the closure more secure.

Once she switched purses, she didn't have any more problems.

[stencilnyc]

Absolutely not! You call ships security. You don't confront these people yourself.

 

They have a bad attitude (do not care about others next door), and may be drunk or even high on drugs.

 

My DH is a master martial artist and teaches both Self Defense & Self Awareness classes and has even taught seminars on a cruise ship. He teaches the teachers including police officers. You don't go and confront these type of people. You need to contact Guest Relations and leave this to the ships security department.

 

I too am a black belt. But I'm also a New Yorker and if something bothers me I take care of it rather than sit in the dark feeling bad for myself.

 

That's just me, though.

 

You're assuming people are bad. I'm assuming they're just having a good time and not realizing they're bugging other people.

[excitedofharpenden]

If the neighbours were at the balcony railing, looked approachable and I had the opportunity then I might very well have said something. Otherwise I agree with Jade. Leave it to security. It's a shame that they were unable to solve the issue though. With a short cruise there's no "we'll put you off at the next port" threat that can be used to great effect. I'd have been very upset with them too, but I'd be thankful it was only a short trip. More evidence that it's the fellow passengers that can be the main downer.

 

Phil

[kaitlynangel]

I had no magnet as I held the keys in my hand for many of the trips to and from the Guest Relations desk and my little wrislet only had a zipper. The idea that I should have engaged people next door is not appropriate. They had the music blasting so loud they couldn't hear the door bell, the phone ringing nor the door being pounded on by Security. Therefore it is logical to conclude they didn't give a crap if anyone heard them, leading one to believe these people are not reasonable respectful people.

 

I had asked for my cabin to be moved, and Sandra at Guest Relations said, first let us speak to the people and maybe we'll look into moving you. They never did speak to the people.

 

In relation to comment that I should have noted the reservation that I would not like an upgrade, what does the upgrade have to do with the disrespectful people and the cabin keys issue? That makes absolutely no sense.

 

I have sailed Celebrity before as it was my very first cruise experience in 1993. It was great and it was upscale. It is now a mere shadow of what it once was. Maybe because I have experienced since 1993 better and even more upscale lines (as well as lower scale Carnivall line) that I can come to my opinion. I had a horrible experience and as I stated I spent 7 and half hours with going back and forth to Guest relations and lost sleep (4 hours).

 

In the hospitality industry that is unacceptable and noone on this board would recount this experience as a pleasant one. I hope to hear back from Celebrity regrading this experience and they provide for a guest lost time. For a 39 hour cruise, lost of 7 and half hours is not acceptable. Short cruise or not these issues were really and they were frustrating, I didn't pay more no matter how much it was for this kind of frustration. People expect more and the Cruise Line will have to respond, give in and the product will suffer.

[Yo Eleven]

oh boy!!!!! I am on my cell phone. I have lots to respond to here. Sorry this was your worst cruise. Were you also having priblems with your air conditioner by any chance? Reason I ask is I saw someone who did who is a travel agent or something. Thought u might be the same person. Will get back to this later.

I wonder if my question was missed or simply not gonna give a answer to it. :confused:

[bestmom1]

I wonder if my question was missed or simply not gonna give a answer to it. :confused:

 

It's possible that the person can't answer to avoid breaking the rules about posting by a Travel agent. Or s/he did answer and the moderators removed it.

[excitedofharpenden]

 

I have sailed Celebrity before as it was my very first cruise experience in 1993. It was great and it was upscale. It is now a mere shadow of what it once was. Maybe because I have experienced since 1993 better and even more upscale lines (as well as lower scale Carnivall line) that I can come to my opinion. I had a horrible experience and as I stated I spent 7 and half hours with going back and forth to Guest relations and lost sleep (4 hours).

 

Honestly I wouldn't use your short cruise experience on Millennium as a bellwether for Celebrity. They can attract a different passenger type based on the number of nights and cost. To a large extent it is a case of you pay your money and take your choice. Cruising attracts a much wider range of people than it did in 1993 and this can have its bad points as well as good. Personally I try and avoid the shorter cruises now and feel the Celebrity experience is a positive one.

 

Phil

[kaitlynangel]

No I am not a travel agent and I did not have any issues with the air conditioner.

[kaitlynangel]

I am well aware of atmospheres aboard different sailings. As I stated my first ever experience with cruising started in 1993 with Celebrity and my last cruise was in March on the NCL Epic. I have been on two 1 night cruises out of NY on the NCL Dawn in 2008 and 2009 and I did not have any trouble. I have been on two 3 night cruises on Carnival and only had a little bit of trouble and I did not have my daughter yet but I did see the clientele was not my favorite. I have been on a one night sailing of the QE2 and of course there were no issue. All of my other cruises on NCL and Princess were 7 nights.

 

I don't like to excuse people's behavior so readily. Just because it's a 2 night cruise then I should expect people to not behave properly. I feel that in this country we seem to make excuses for people and not take personal responsibility for our own actions. Bad behavior is unacceptable whether it was in 1993 or 2012, or whether it is a 1 night cruise or a 7 day cruise. If we accept things as "oh well.". Can’t expect people to be respectful on a two day cruise then we are really throwing in the towel. That is simply not the world I want to live in. Have expectations of yourself and of others. Be respectful whether you’re in the company of others for a minute or for days. Come on people we are better than that to just lay there and take crap from one another based on low expectations.

[Orator]

Why not start a new thread on concerns, difficulties,etc.. This thread started out to be about upgrades. Sorry, that I contributed to the hijacking.

[excitedofharpenden]

I am well aware of atmospheres aboard different sailings. As I stated my first ever experience with cruising started in 1993 with Celebrity and my last cruise was in March on the NCL Epic. I have been on two 1 night cruises out of NY on the NCL Dawn in 2008 and 2009 and I did not have any trouble. I have been on two 3 night cruises on Carnival and only had a little bit of trouble and I did not have my daughter yet but I did see the clientele was not my favorite. I have been on a one night sailing of the QE2 and of course there were no issue. All of my other cruises on NCL and Princess were 7 nights.

 

I don't like to excuse people's behavior so readily. Just because it's a 2 night cruise then I should expect people to not behave properly. I feel that in this country we seem to make excuses for people and not take personal responsibility for our own actions. Bad behavior is unacceptable whether it was in 1993 or 2012, or whether it is a 1 night cruise or a 7 day cruise. If we accept things as "oh well.". Can’t expect people to be respectful on a two day cruise then we are really throwing in the towel. That is simply not the world I want to live in. Have expectations of yourself and of others. Be respectful whether you’re in the company of others for a minute or for days. Come on people we are better than that to just lay there and take crap from one another based on low expectations.

You could get people like that just as easily on NCL or Princess or Carnival. Sadly you were unlucky on this occasion. I passed no judgments and was trying to be helpful toward your next decision. Not sure if your last paragraph was in response to my post, but if it was please don't lecture me on behaviours. I'm the last person who needs it.

 

Orator, you are right. This is off track and I too apologise for taking it further away, but wanted to respond to the poster. I don't think a separate thread about it will help.

 

Phil

[Orator]

You could get people like that just as easily on NCL or Princess or Carnival. Sadly you were unlucky on this occasion. I passed no judgments and was trying to be helpful toward your next decision. Not sure if your last paragraph was in response to my post, but if it was please don't lecture me on behaviours. I'm the last person who needs it.

 

Orator, you are right. This is off track and I too apologise for taking it further away, but wanted to respond to the poster. I don't think a separate thread about it will help.

 

Phil

 

Agree. Sometimes it's good to vent, but at some point you need to let it go.

[patty1955]

Several years ago, my husband and I took the vacation from hell. It started with getting to the airport on the wrong day( the day before our flight, thank God) and ended with us waiting out a hurricane in a hotel room in Orlando eating nothing but tuna and trail mix for 7 days.

The reason for the trip was a Caribbean cruise on RC, which was the worst part of the trip. One of the problems on the cruise was the couple on the other side of a very thin wall. We’re sure they were on their honeymoon, since they were very busy and very noisy. We heard an amazing number of noises and, being in our 50s, had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

When the cruise line notified that they were cutting short the cruise for the hurricane, we decided to finish off our boxes of wine. While were drinking and discussing the situation, the young man from next door decided to come over to complain about our loud voices. If he had come over a couple of glasses earlier, it might have been better for him. My husband opened the door and saw this young 20-something all puffed up and indignant and had just had enough. His exact words: Listen “Quick Shot Charlie”, after what we’ve heard over the last few days, you might be best to march your a** back to your cabin and not worry about us.

The young man quietly returned to his room and it was quiet in both rooms for the rest of the night

[Yo Eleven]

Okay I copy you on you not being the same person with the air condition problem. I like to go ahead and address your concerns here.

 

I too was upgraded from inside $99 cabin (I had two cabins) to cabin 7201 Family Veranda. I understand that many of the Bank of Canada people (I believe that is who chartered the boat prior to us for a 4 day cruise) decided to stay on for a back to back and some of us who had booked the $99 insides got a call with an upgrade. I only sailed once before with Celebrity back in 1993 on the Horizon. I have been on 10 NCL cruises, 1 Cunard, 2 Carnival and 2 Princess Cruises. This cruise was my worst ever. Congratulations on the upgrade. When I booked this cruise I clearly stated what I was expecting was a cabin on Deck 2 in the front of the ship. The absolute worst cabin anyway. One where it was noisy and feeling every wave the ship encountered. Maybe even a bed bug or two. All I am saying is our expectations were as such. And so should have been yours. To go from two crummy cabins to one glorious cabin sounds like a kill in my upgrade fairy book.

 

I loved the cabin, it was great. It had a separate sleeping area for my daughter and her friend, one is 12 and the other is 13. The deck was 250 sq. ft. and the cabin was 271 sq. ft. The aft is the best location.

Yes, it is a no brainer that your ONE family veranda cabin far exceeds the two inside crummy cabins that could have been at the bottom of the ship towards the front. Who the heck wants to be there?

My issues started right before the Muster Drill when we came to find that all four of our keys didn't work and my Muster Station was different than the other 3 of us in the cabin. After the drill we had to wait on a long line and then another 15 mins for Guest Relations to re-do the keys. Upon arrival back to the room, we noticed that I of the children’s keys was not labeled with the Soda Pkg. So I had to get on line again and ask them to make a new key. Again after arriving at the cabin we found that that new child’s key didn't work. Had to go back again, wait in line and get yet another key card, I hate to bore you but this going back and forth happened 6 times and in total I and my family wasted 1 hour and 30 minutes in total at Guest Relations resolving cabin key issues.

This is interesting you mentioned this as we had a similar issue with the keys. It was no big deal for us. I don't know why you went back to the back of the line. They fixed our keys, still didn't work as they were supposed to and went right back and politely told the people waiting that we were just here and the person at the desk remembered us a few minutes earlier. We were put to the side and taken care of as soon as she was available. I am certain if you went up to the counter so many times they would have taken care of you faster if you politely pushed your way back in.

Funny thing - if not ridiculous is when I was asked if I was carrying a Magnet in my Purse. I said the Ricardo Madrid at Guest Relations, "Your Kidding right? Is this an episode of Let's Make a Deal?" I didn't have anything in purse that was metal and no cellphone. And I was carrying the cabin keys in my hand all the way back to the cabin.

Magnets can affect the keys indeed. I know you were frustrated at the time, but this question was not intended to insult you. All he was doing was trying to troubleshoot.

My neighbors in cabin 7199 (Hey I wonder if they are on this board?) they had a Grand ole time in their end unit FAMILY Veranda. I was told by the guest Relations after I had to call Security on them for starting their loud party at 1:00 AM with blasting music that there were one woman and two men registered in that cabin. After Security couldn't get them to come to the door after ringing the door bell, ringing the phone and pounding at the door - Security just left. Thank god they lowered the music so they made sure we could hear the orgy they were having until 4:00 AM. Multiple Men and at least two left at 4:00 when I guess the party was over. Nothing - I repeat nothing was done. I never let my child make noise in either a hotel room or cabin as to be respectful to others. These people were UNBELIEVABLE. Absolutely didn't give a crap about anyone else. I don't think normal people would feel comfortable having the 12 year old daughter and her 13 yr. old friend in a hotel room or cabin with loud sex going on, at least I hope to God it would make you uncomfortable.

I agree 100 percent with you here. You did exactly what were supposed to do. That being call security. Confronting them could have been a disaster. They could have been drunk. Maybe attack you. Who knows? But you did the right thing and yes that is rude of them. Unfortunately, these "sorts" were to be expected on this cruise. I read you response about the behavior thing. How it doesn't matter if it is a one, two, seven day cruise. But, knowing this cruise is out of Miami, only two days, and our roll call consisted of a bunch of locals, personally I am not surprised. You should have seen the drunk bastard that was in the casino the first night. He was making the biggest scene. Screaming at the dealers, pit boss, casino host, and security. It was amazing how the casino staff kept their cool. I stopped my own game to observe the excitement and to wait to see if they were gonna tackle this bozo. But it never happened. Darn, that would have been fun to watch. O well. But, as Orator pointed out (he has been on SEVERAL Celebrity cruises, this sailing was NOT your regular Celebrity type of sailing guests. When the festivities started at 4am did you call guest relations to have security come and investigate? I certainly would not have just sat there and listened to this? Perhaps some would. But not me. Not gonna do it. Security where are ya??????

When I got upgrade call I was hesitant to do so because I wanted to make the girls comfortable as we were traveling with my daughter’s 13 yr. old friend. I also wanted everyone to have privacy. When I was offered a FAMILY veranda and the agent explained how it was laid out and that it was intended for families traveling together I made the decision to forgo the two cabins I had already booked. I would have thought Celebrity would have made this upgrade offer to a Family for a Family Veranda room. I guess not.

No need to be hesitant, sounded like a great deal, putting all the other stuff aside. It was a no brainer to take the upgrade.

The end result was I had to speak with Guest relations at length early Morning of our day in Nassau and then we couldn't even get out of our room because our toilet was on a line that needed to be repaired. When we finally got the toilet back in service and all four of us could shower and change it was 12:00 PM.

This definitely sucks that you had other issues with the room. Things like this happen. It is an inconvenience. I hope you let the guest relations know that your time in Nassau was limited due to their cabin.

When I tried to leave the ship with my family I couldn't because my $*%#-ing cabin key was working and I was sent back to guest relations to get a new one.

My key didn't work either!!!!!!! You must have heard that loud "boat horn" noise followed by, "Warning-seapass NOT VALID" or something of that sort. They were able to pull up my picture manually and signed me out manually. No problem. Did have to go back when I got on the ship to clear it up so we wouldn't have any hangups when we docked back at home.

I told my family to go ahead without me and I was furious at this point. 20 minutes later and blood pressure through the roof I finally got off the ship. I got back to the room at 7:26 to hear music once again playing loudly and a voicemail message from Sandra the Guest Relations Manager that they were unable to speak to the guest in 7199 in person but that security would be patrolling our area this evening. I called back and left her a message that the occupants were in their cabin right now and playing there music as if there was no one else on the ship. I left and tried to salvage the evening.

 

I never heard back from Sandra and Thank god the music was off when we returned. I was finally able to have a decent night’s sleep and had no key issues as we left the ship for home.

Well at least things calmed downed for the better. High blood pressure is not a good thing.

 

On another side note the room service food was horrible, the dining room food was good, not as good as NCL but it was good. The desserts were much better than NCL but the SPA on NCL was much better. I bought a Day Pass for $20 and the only usable rom was the dry sauna - the grotto and the moist sauna. The Turkish baths were set to hot and I thought I was going to be burned by the steam if I had stayed in second more than I did.

I thought the food was great. Especially the food in the Olympic Dining Room. We ate in the MDR and we enjoyed it as well. I will say as you mention the sauna, I was bummed out that they close the indoor pool and hottub at 9pm. That is ridiculous.

I never went to Guest Relations at all on any of my previous cruises 15 cruises. I have never written a bad review and overall I have had wonderful experiences in the past with all my travels. I actually have been booking corporate travel for 20 years and I have only worked as the Assistant to the CEO's of many different companies. And they too have cruised and stayed in many 5 star accommodations, none of them have had the experiences I have had with this particular cruise. I am very disappointed as I fondly remember Celebrity as they were my first cruise experience 18 years ago. I only say that I choose this 2 night cruise over Carnival because I didn't want the party animal atmosphere and the Sex orgy in the cabin next door. When traveling with 12 and 13 year old girls that was totally in appropriate. Even other adults don't want to hear you dong your thing with multiple men all night long. Please have some respect for others..

Like the others said, I wouldn't base the entire Celebrity experience on this ONE cruise. I would try again. If not, simply go back to the cruise lines you had a pleasurable experience with.

[Redtravel]

You lucked out.

[Yo Eleven]

You lucked out.

Yep, talk about being at the right place at the right time. Grand slam homer. Even parked off site at port of miami with no glitches and saved even more money!!!!!!!!

[kaitlynangel]

Thanks for taking the time to review my diatribe. As for RedTravel, Yeah boy was I lucky (sarcastic). I had two decent inside cabins with room assignments adjacent to each other. Because I was traveling with Minors I was given two cabins next to each other and they were not in a crummy location.

 

I didn't feel lucky with all the trips to Guest Relations and it was for more than just the keys not working, (soda package not attached as it was on the 1st card, wrong Muster Station printed) and also I never once thought to cut the line and have them assist me. I thought I would wait in line like everyone else (was my problem more important than theirs?). And since I went back and forth so many times I have it say I did not experience any compassion until around the 4th time to Guest relations when they said they would deliver new keys. Guest Relations said they were having problems with the keys and that on the retrofit soon coming up they were moving to a new system and the problem would be resolved. Not soon enough for me.

 

I had Called Security once and they did nothing so the partying ending at 4:00 am was a relief, I personally couldn't sleep due to being pissed off. Everyone else hopefully slept (12 and 13 yr. old).

 

About judging a Cruise Line based on one cruise...well I had originally cruised with Celebrity on my very first of 15 cruise experiences and it was a good one That’s Way I Came back. If my first experience was bad I Would Not Have Come Back. First Impressions are very important and sometimes all a product has to either make or break a connection with the consumer. I judge based on my experiences and I will not spend a dime on something that was unenjoyable just to give them a second chance, last I checked in this economy people don't have money to play with to give a product a second chance. And in all honestly why should they, my experience is uniquely mine and no one can disagree with how I feel, I feel how I feel. I think we post our experiences to share and give insight to others when they are about to spend thousands of hard earned dollars on a vacation. They have a right to hear the good and the bad. Then let them have to opportunity to "take a chance", it their right to do so. I just can't afford to take a chance - so NCL or Princess will be my go to cruise lines thus far. Too Bad because I really did like Celebrity - I had fond memories.

[soccerpapi]

I was solo traveller on the cruise as well and overall enjoyed it, but there were glitches / issues that I would have preferred to not have experienced myself.

 

1. I arrived on the ship about 1:00 p.m. and went to my cabin. The key card did not work for my cabin when I tried it and I went to the guest relations on deck 3 twice to get the key fixed and that did not solve the problem. I did wait in line twice and it was a long line both times.

 

I found the cabin steward Maynard about 1:45 p.m. and his key card did not work for my cabin either. He then went to the guest relations desk and his key card was activated to open my cabin door, but the new key card he brought for me still did not work. He opened the door and let me in the cabin and then checked on the problem with maintenence. He said that maintenence had to come and fix the lock, this was about 2;00 p.m. He said I could leave the cabin and he would let me in with his key when I needed him to.

 

I left the cabin after a few minutes and returned about 3:30 p.m. and the key card he gave me earlier worked. The muster drill was at 3:45 p.m., so I went to that pretty quickly after getting the key card situation fixed.

 

This was not a big problem, but frustrating, since we were scheduled to be on the ship about 42 hours in total and I would have preferred to have access to my cabin without issue.

 

2. When waiting in line at the buffet on Friday at about 10:30 a.m. there were two arguments between the servers and passengers. Both the servers and the passengers seem to be somewhat at fault from what I could see and I was standing right next to one of the passengers. It was not a pleasant experience at all, but as I said both the staff and passengers seemed to be at fault.

 

3. I waited in a line for over a half hour from 4:15 p.m. to about 4:50 p.m. to get 2 cheeseburgers and fries at the grill as there was a problem with two passengers and staff again at the front of the line.

 

It was not entirely clear, but it seemed like the passengers wanted bacon on thier burgers and there was no bacon available. The passengers apparently made one of the staff get bacon from the kitchen ( somewhere far away apparently ) and it took forever. The passengers seemed to be at fault here and would not move from the line. The line did not move for at least 15 to 20 minutes because of this and got very long behind me and many passengers gave up waiting for thier burgers, hot dogs or fries.

 

I asked the manager when I was in line what the problem was and he said it would be resolved soon. When I was finally able to order, the manager was helping the staff fill the orders and apologized for the delay, but did not say why the delay happened.

 

4. I had dinner in the Olympic restuarant the first night and it was very good. I probably should have booked it for the second night as well. I ate alone at a table for 2, but it was definitely a better experience than I had in the main dining room on the second night. No question that I would have gladly paid the $40.00 surcharge to dine at the Olympic on the second night if I knew how dinner would be in the main dining room that night.

 

The second night I had the 8:30 pm. assigned seating in the main dining room. I was seated at a table for 10 or 12 with two couples that did not speak to each other at all and were seated on opposite ends of the table. I moved my seat to sit nearer to one of the couples to have at least a little conversation and it did not go very well. The wife of the couple I sat closer to said she moved to Miami from Cuba 30 years ago but did not speak english too well. I speak pretty good spanish, but the whole experience was not what I was expecting and both couples seemed to not want to talk to anyone. Having so much space and the people at the table so far away from each was really stupid.

 

I saw other tables that night in similiar situations, with one or two couples at tables for 8 to 12 and sitting far away from each other. The waiter at our table did confirm that no others were assigned our table for either night. Celebrity could have done a much better job of filling large tables with more people, not two or four people assigned for tables for 10 to 12.

 

I am sorry, but if I am eating at the same table with people whether I know them or not, I think they could make an effort for it to be a pleasureable experience. I would have preferred to eat alone at a table for two or four than be put at a table for 10 or 12 with tow couples that did not want to speak with anyone.

 

5. On the last morning, I went to breakfast at about 7:10 a.m. and was seated at a table for 10 with 5 people already sitting there. I thought these people were just seated. Within a few minutes another single man was seated at the table.

 

Then just after the other man sat down, the waiters brought the 5 passengers thier breakfast and they understandably proceeded to eat thier breakfast.

 

Finally after serving the others breakfast, the waiter took the other man's and my order for breakfast and were served it as the other 5 passengers were leaving.

 

I think this was BS, do not seat me at a table, especially when I am a solo passenger where the people have already ordered and are ready to serve thier breakfast to. I went to the main dining room for a nice breakfast like I had the morning before when I was seated with people at approximatley the same time and our food was delivered at the same time.

 

 

On a positive note, I met some very nice people on the ship from South Florida, New Jersey and other places. There were some very nice ladies from West Palm Beach that I really liked throughout the cruise, they were sweethearts and would love to see them again!

 

soccer

[kaitlynangel]

I guess I wasn't the only one having key issues. Mine went on through the two days and only got resolved in the afternoon of day 2. I serious don't know what the issue was and apparently it wasn't a magnet problem but an internal issue for others to have the same issue. The incidents youy described aren't due to the fact the cruise was a 2 day cruise, but rather a issue with management. I had issues with our being assigned Select Dining which we wanted as we are used to FreeStyle dining with NCL. they had no signage that said Select Dining guests go to the 5th floor and then they had no sign to indicate which side of the Metropolitian we were to enter on. We had no signage when trying to fing the Gangway other than to say it was on Deck 1. It was a bizarre time for us, just not used to that level of mismanagement. I don't think it has anything to do with it being a 2 DAy cruise. That is like saying they only do a good job when it's a 7 day cruise and they are laxed with 2 day cruises. The issues I had were two fold, the way Guest Relations handle things and the disrespectful passengers. One is under full control of Celebrity and the other is there job to get under control. So far I have not heard back from Celebrity but it's only been a few days. I know these thing move slow. But I will update you.

[Jade13]

I guess I wasn't the only one having key issues. Mine went on through the two days and only got resolved in the afternoon of day 2. I serious don't know what the issue was and apparently it wasn't a magnet problem but an internal issue for others to have the same issue. The incidents youy described aren't due to the fact the cruise was a 2 day cruise, but rather a issue with management. I had issues with our being assigned Select Dining which we wanted as we are used to FreeStyle dining with NCL. they had no signage that said Select Dining guests go to the 5th floor and then they had no sign to indicate which side of the Metropolitian we were to enter on. We had no signage when trying to fing the Gangway other than to say it was on Deck 1. It was a bizarre time for us, just not used to that level of mismanagement. I don't think it has anything to do with it being a 2 DAy cruise. That is like saying they only do a good job when it's a 7 day cruise and they are laxed with 2 day cruises. The issues I had were two fold, the way Guest Relations handle things and the disrespectful passengers. One is under full control of Celebrity and the other is there job to get under control. So far I have not heard back from Celebrity but it's only been a few days. I know these thing move slow. But I will update you.

 

Let us know when you hear back from Celebrity. From what I have heard they will not do anything but tell you they hope you enjoy your next cruise. Holland America Line is more likely to do something when a customer writes to them after a cruise (good or bad), but it always entails some type of credit or VIP treatment on a future cruise with them. I don't know what you are expecting.

 

I am pretty sure that the open seating is always on the top level of the dining room.

 

My DH prefers the Indonesian and Filipino crew on HAL, especially in the MDR, and feels they do a much better job overall. He heard someone at an adjacent table on Millennium ask for sweet & low instead of sugar, and the server had no idea what they were talking about.

 

Our other comment is that we never heard the Captain over the two days. They usually do a noon time announcement. It would have been nice if he greeted everyone, even if it was over the loudspeaker and not in the theater.

[soccerpapi]

I guess I wasn't the only one having key issues. Mine went on through the two days and only got resolved in the afternoon of day 2. I serious don't know what the issue was and apparently it wasn't a magnet problem but an internal issue for others to have the same issue. .

 

I am sorry to hear of all your troubles, especially concerning the key cards.

 

I think a lot of passengers were having problems with thier key cards through no fault of thier own. This was clearly Celebrity's issue and I feel they are fully aware of the problem. It probably has something to do with the last passengers profile not being closed out and thier key card still being active. This is probably why there were lines at the guest relations desk in the first place. I think in my case, the lock needed to be reset from the previous passenger key card coding.

 

One more thing, the interactive TV did not work on the cruise for me at all. No ordering room service, checking my bill, etc. That was also frustrating and I think had something to do with the previous passengers profiles not being closed out correctly. The system probably needed to be reset like maintenence needed to do with the lock. I gave up on trying to get the interactive TV issue resolved as it was a such a short cruise.

 

soccer

[soccerpapi]

My DH prefers the Indonesian and Filipino crew on HAL, especially in the MDR, and feels they do a much better job overall. He heard someone at an adjacent table on Millennium ask for sweet &lLow instead of sugar and the server had no idea what they were talking about.

 

Our other comment is that we never heard the Captain over the two days. They usually do a noon time announcement. It would have been nice if he greeted everyone, even if it was over the loudspeaker and not in the theater.

 

I agree with your husband about the staff of Holland America compared to Celebrity. I prefer the Hollard America staff and service concept, based on my experience with this cruise. The Holland America staff seem to gel better with one another and provide a higher level of consistent service. The same applies to how the Lido buffet is set up on Holland America, it seems like a classier and clean affair.

 

I also was surprised to not hear from the captain at all throughout the entire cruise. On Holland America, the captain makes at least a few announcements throughout the cruise and keeps you informed. This ship ould have been on auto pilot for all we know as there was no evidence that the captain was even onboard!

 

soccer

[Yo Eleven]

I was solo traveller on the cruise as well and overall enjoyed it, but there were glitches / issues that I would have preferred to not have experienced myself.

 

1. I arrived on the ship about 1:00 p.m. and went to my cabin. The key card did not work for my cabin when I tried it and I went to the guest relations on deck 3 twice to get the key fixed and that did not solve the problem. I did wait in line twice and it was a long line both times.

 

I found the cabin steward Maynard about 1:45 p.m. and his key card did not work for my cabin either. He then went to the guest relations desk and his key card was activated to open my cabin door, but the new key card he brought for me still did not work. He opened the door and let me in the cabin and then checked on the problem with maintenence. He said that maintenence had to come and fix the lock, this was about 2;00 p.m. He said I could leave the cabin and he would let me in with his key when I needed him to.

 

I left the cabin after a few minutes and returned about 3:30 p.m. and the key card he gave me earlier worked. The muster drill was at 3:45 p.m., so I went to that pretty quickly after getting the key card situation fixed.

 

This was not a big problem, but frustrating, since we were scheduled to be on the ship about 42 hours in total and I would have preferred to have access to my cabin without issue.

 

2. When waiting in line at the buffet on Friday at about 10:30 a.m. there were two arguments between the servers and passengers. Both the servers and the passengers seem to be somewhat at fault from what I could see and I was standing right next to one of the passengers. It was not a pleasant experience at all, but as I said both the staff and passengers seemed to be at fault.

 

3. I waited in a line for over a half hour from 4:15 p.m. to about 4:50 p.m. to get 2 cheeseburgers and fries at the grill as there was a problem with two passengers and staff again at the front of the line.

 

It was not entirely clear, but it seemed like the passengers wanted bacon on thier burgers and there was no bacon available. The passengers apparently made one of the staff get bacon from the kitchen ( somewhere far away apparently ) and it took forever. The passengers seemed to be at fault here and would not move from the line. The line did not move for at least 15 to 20 minutes because of this and got very long behind me and many passengers gave up waiting for thier burgers, hot dogs or fries.

 

I asked the manager when I was in line what the problem was and he said it would be resolved soon. When I was finally able to order, the manager was helping the staff fill the orders and apologized for the delay, but did not say why the delay happened.

 

4. I had dinner in the Olympic restuarant the first night and it was very good. I probably should have booked it for the second night as well. I ate alone at a table for 2, but it was definitely a better experience than I had in the main dining room on the second night. No question that I would have gladly paid the $40.00 surcharge to dine at the Olympic on the second night if I knew how dinner would be in the main dining room that night.

 

The second night I had the 8:30 pm. assigned seating in the main dining room. I was seated at a table for 10 or 12 with two couples that did not speak to each other at all and were seated on opposite ends of the table. I moved my seat to sit nearer to one of the couples to have at least a little conversation and it did not go very well. The wife of the couple I sat closer to said she moved to Miami from Cuba 30 years ago but did not speak english too well. I speak pretty good spanish, but the whole experience was not what I was expecting and both couples seemed to not want to talk to anyone. Having so much space and the people at the table so far away from each was really stupid.

 

I saw other tables that night in similiar situations, with one or two couples at tables for 8 to 12 and sitting far away from each other. The waiter at our table did confirm that no others were assigned our table for either night. Celebrity could have done a much better job of filling large tables with more people, not two or four people assigned for tables for 10 to 12.

 

I am sorry, but if I am eating at the same table with people whether I know them or not, I think they could make an effort for it to be a pleasureable experience. I would have preferred to eat alone at a table for two or four than be put at a table for 10 or 12 with tow couples that did not want to speak with anyone.

 

5. On the last morning, I went to breakfast at about 7:10 a.m. and was seated at a table for 10 with 5 people already sitting there. I thought these people were just seated. Within a few minutes another single man was seated at the table.

 

Then just after the other man sat down, the waiters brought the 5 passengers thier breakfast and they understandably proceeded to eat thier breakfast.

 

Finally after serving the others breakfast, the waiter took the other man's and my order for breakfast and were served it as the other 5 passengers were leaving.

 

I think this was BS, do not seat me at a table, especially when I am a solo passenger where the people have already ordered and are ready to serve thier breakfast to. I went to the main dining room for a nice breakfast like I had the morning before when I was seated with people at approximatley the same time and our food was delivered at the same time.

 

 

On a positive note, I met some very nice people on the ship from South Florida, New Jersey and other places. There were some very nice ladies from West Palm Beach that I really liked throughout the cruise, they were sweethearts and would love to see them again!

 

soccer

Oh man! This stinks. I met you at roll call and you seemed like a swell guy.

 

I did forget to tell you all earlier that our door wouldn't shut completely when we first got to our upgraded cabin. If someone came to our door when we weren't there you could just open it and walk right in. On a bright note, when we told them about it they were on top of it and the fixed it immediately. So it wasn't a big deal to me.