April 6th Silhouette Review- Horrible Start - Would It Improve ??

[Colorado Buffalo]

Quick Background-

 

Myself (45 yrs old) my wife (39 years old) and my daughter (5 years old)

went on the Sunday April 6th Western sailing -

 

This would only be our second cruise... our first was on the NCL Sun back

in July 2002 so we are still fairly new to cruising.

 

We chose Celebrity because of the 123Go Package (we chose the Classic Alcohol Package and upgraded to Premium) and because Celebrity offered free sailing for children (we just had to pay gratuities and taxes)

I booked all of this by phone directly with Celebrity.

 

4 Days Before Sailing-

 

I noticed a $161.00 refund on my VISA from Celebrity and wondered what had happened so I called and waited 62 minutes to talk to an agent.

Once connected I was told that the 123Go and the Premium upgrade both were not on my reservation. Needless to say I was not a happy camper.

I was put on hold for approximately 10 minutes. Once back to me the agent had no clue what had happened but got the 123Go back on the reservation but told me it was too late to add the Premium Package upgrade and that Guest Relations would have to do so once we got aboard, (this as I found out later was false as any bar could do so) so I printed out our reservation

directly from the Celebrity website showing the 123Go Classic Alcoholic Package was indeed showing and made sure I took it with us on the trip.(this would be important ... or maybe not - more later)

[Jayneykul]

I really hope things improve for you Im sure once onboard you will have a fantastic time their admin is not that hot!

[We're The Groupnors]

Sorry to hear things are not starting off well, and hope that it's better once you're on board. After reading about your 62 minute hold I am once again thankful that we always use a travel agent.

[Colorado Buffalo]

Start Of Our Vacation-

 

I had set the alarm for 3:15 a.m. as our flight from Denver to Ft Lauderdale

was scheduled for a 7 a.m. departure but I awoke on my own at 2:30 a.m. as I couldn't sleep due to excitement. We flew out on Saturday April the 5th, the day before the cruise as the weather in Colorado can be unpredictable this time of year. As it turned out it was a beautiful early morning and our Frontier Airlines flight lifted off on-time. The flight was uneventful and we arrived 10 minutes early.

Our bags arrived just as we were approaching the carousel and we were off to the taxi stand. It was a warm and muggy day but we welcomed the heat any way we could get it.

 

Two months in advance I was having problems finding an overnight hotel for less than $250.00 a night (the Hampden Inn was $289 !)

but lucked out getting a room though Last Minute Travel for $126.00 at the GalleryONE Doubletree by Hilton. I was curious what such a good deal would get us but we would find out soon as we were now on our way to our overnight hotel.

 

Traffic was quite slow as it seemed many were out and about on their Saturday afternoon enjoying a beautiful day. $29.00 later plus a $6.00 tip and we were at the hotel. It was located 10-12 min north of Port Everglades off of Sunrise Blvd in a great setting. To one side of the hotel was the Galleria Mall (very upscale stores) , across the street was a Publix grocery store which was great if you needed last minute items for the cruise or wanted to get breakfast items for the room and then on the other side of the hotel was one of Ft Lauderdale's famous waterways where you could sit and watch the yachts cruise by. The water taxi has one of their stops at the hotel if you wanted to take it to Las Olas for dinner and shopping.

The room was a suite which included a kitchen with a small fridge, microwave and dishes along with a couch that could pullout to a bed and a large flat screen tv. There was a door that lead to another room that had two queen beds, another large flat screen tv and the bathroom. Both rooms had a balcony (ours overlooked a noisy Sunrise Blvd) and the hotel had a small pool, a hot-tub and a small man-made beach that overlooked the waterway. They also had a coin operated laundry, an expensive Starbucks and restaurant. The hotel was clean but was a bit worn around the edges with fraying carpet and some walls in need of a fresh coat of paint. Service was good with the valets especially helpful.

 

After check-in we changed our clothes and walked over the draw bridge three blocks to the beach. We hadn't eaten anything of substance since 5:30 a.m. at McDonalds in the Denver airport so we decided to try Primanti Brothers for a sandwich. This place apparently is a famous Pittsburgh institution known for it's pizza and sandwiches that's also in Florida. The place is a dive but the food was tasty and hit the spot. We took the leftovers back to our hotel for a snack later.

 

After sticking our feet into the Atlantic Ocean we headed back for a leisure night at our hotel and turned in early since we woke up at 2:30 a.m. and knew the next day would be a busy one.

[Crazy Cruzer]

How do you keep a bunch of Cruise Critics in suspense?

 

I really hope things improve for you Im sure once onboard you will have a fantastic time their admin is not that hot!

 

Sorry to hear things are not starting off well' date=' and hope that it's better once you're on board. After reading about your 62 minute hold I am once again thankful that we always use a travel agent.[/quote']

 

 

The OP's cruise ended yesterday. He's feeding us bits and pieces at a time. Very slowly.

[Jayme159]

Primanti brothers is on my culinary bucket list! I didn't think I could get more excited about my first cruise in December but... Gah! Yay!

[jzad]

Start Of Our Vacation-

 

I had set the alarm for 3:15 a.m. as our flight from Denver to Ft Lauderdale

was scheduled for a 7 a.m. departure but I awoke on my own at 2:30 a.m. as I couldn't sleep due to excitement. We flew out on Saturday April the 5th, the day before the cruise as the weather in Colorado can be unpredictable this time of year. As it turned out it was a beautiful early morning and our Frontier Airlines flight lifted off on-time. The flight was uneventful and we arrived 10 minutes early.

Our bags arrived just as we were approaching the carousel and we were off to the taxi stand. It was a warm and muggy day but we welcomed the heat any way we could get it.

 

Two months in advance I was having problems finding an overnight hotel for less than $250.00 a night (the Hampden Inn was $289 !)

but lucked out getting a room though Last Minute Travel for $126.00 at the GalleryONE Doubletree by Hilton. I was curious what such a good deal would get us but we would find out soon as we were now on our way to our overnight hotel.

 

Traffic was quite slow as it seemed many were out and about on their Saturday afternoon enjoying a beautiful day. $29.00 later plus a $6.00 tip and we were at the hotel. It was located 10-12 min north of Port Everglades off of Sunrise Blvd in a great setting. To one side of the hotel was the Galleria Mall (very upscale stores) , across the street was a Publix grocery store which was great if you needed last minute items for the cruise or wanted to get breakfast items for the room and then on the other side of the hotel was one of Ft Lauderdale's famous waterways where you could sit and watch the yachts cruise by. The water taxi has one of their stops at the hotel if you wanted to take it to Las Olas for dinner and shopping.

The room was a suite which included a kitchen with a small fridge, microwave and dishes along with a couch that could pullout to a bed and a large flat screen tv. There was a door that lead to another room that had two queen beds, another large flat screen tv and the bathroom. Both rooms had a balcony (ours overlooked a noisy Sunrise Blvd) and the hotel had a small pool, a hot-tub and a small man-made beach that overlooked the waterway. They also had a coin operated laundry, an expensive Starbucks and restaurant. The hotel was clean but was a bit worn around the edges with fraying carpet and some walls in need of a fresh coat of paint. Service was good with the valets especially helpful.

 

After check-in we changed our clothes and walked over the draw bridge three blocks to the beach. We hadn't eaten anything of substance since 5:30 a.m. at McDonalds in the Denver airport so we decided to try Primanti Brothers for a sandwich. This place apparently is a famous Pittsburgh institution known for it's pizza and sandwiches that's also in Florida. The place is a dive but the food was tasty and hit the spot. We took the leftovers back to our hotel for a snack later.

 

After sticking our feet into the Atlantic Ocean we headed back for a leisure night at our hotel and turned in early since we woke up at 2:30 a.m. and knew the next day would be a busy one.

 

Wating with bated breath

[dizneydawn]

Can't wait to hear what happens!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Colorado Buffalo]

April 6th- Our Cruise Begins-

 

We woke up around 8 a.m.

We slept OK but as indicated above if you stay at the GalleryONE I recommend asking for a room not facing Sunrise Blvd as I heard cars early into the a.m. with many blasting their bass seemingly trying to outdo the next car.

We ate our yogurt, blueberry muffins and OJ we had purchased a day earlier at the Publix. We ate light knowing we were about to have tons of food at our beck and call the next 7 days.

It was only 9 a.m. which was too early to head to Port Everglades so we decided to take one more walk to the beach and kill some time. Once back to our hotel I asked the valet to call us a cab. He told us to be back in 15 min.

I sure was glad I did because when we came back down the valet area was chaos with what had to be at least 30 other guests needing cabs as well. Right about then a cab showed up and the valet immediately told everybody the cab was ours because we had called for one earlier. I felt great seeing everybody else looking at us as we were on our way to go cruising.

A $20.00 cab ride plus a $5.00 tip and we were being dropped off at Port 25 with the beautiful Silhouette proudly towering over the terminal. It was

11:15 a.m. and we made it through security, check-in and got our SeaPass cards in just under 10 minutes.... never having to wait. This is so easy I thought to myself. Now was the time we walked up the hall connecting the terminal to the ship with champagne or mimosa's waiting for us. Our cruise was starting.

All I had to do was go to Guest Relations and get the Premium Alcohol Package added to our 123Go Classic Package. Down a flight of stairs to Deck 3 and once again there was no wait. This should just take a few minutes and we would be set..... or would we :mad:

Edited April 14, 2014 by Colorado Buffalo

[Bailey & Sophie]

More please. NOW!!!!!

[Happy2cruise]

The suspense is building:eek::eek::eek:

[Tangocherie]

The suspense is building:eek::eek::eek:

 

Yeah, just like the afternoon soaps.:rolleyes:

[Colorado Buffalo]

Guest Relations ??

 

I approached the counter and what looked to be a professional, young lady asked if she could help me. I explained that 4 days earlier I'd discovered that the 123Go Promo and my upgraded Premium Package had fallen off the reservation but that their agents helped put it back on the reservation and that I was there to re-purchase the Premium Package.

Ariel (I think that was her name... it started with an A .... she's from The Philippines) asked for our SeaPass Cards. She then rudely told me that I didn't have any 123Go Promotion because the SeaPass Card would have had it on it.

She then pulled up my reservation on her computer and again rudely said there was no 123Go Promotion showing. At that moment I pulled out the printout of the reservation info from Celebrity's website that I made showing that as of April 3rd I indeed had the 123Go Promotion. I might as well pulled out a copy of the National Enquirer as the reservation confirmation was of no use. This nasty lady told me that if it's not on her computer I don't have it. It was at this point I became unglued.

 

I asked what I could have done differently. I told her I did my part and not only confirmed my reservation with her company but also brought on-board proof I had done so. I really thought having the copy of my reservation would have been enough but no. She then told me that Corporate was closed since it was Sunday and I might hear something in 24 hours.

At this point I started raising my voice and was on the verge of a meltdown which is something I don't do. No way was I going to pay for water, soda, beer & wine when it was offered to me and was on my reservation. I told her I was not leaving her desk until something was resolved.

[drarill]

more please...:)

[ghstudio]

Hoping this works out OK. This is the notorious Celebrity computer system at it's worst.....and the guest services rep at the desk has no power to do much of anything. Guessing the next post will be a resolution....one can only hope.

[Colorado Buffalo]

Guest Relations ... more like Do It Yourself Relations-

 

So ... our lovely Miss Guest Relations was just told that I wasn't leaving her desk until my issue was resolved. She promptly takes her telephone and places it in front of me and says that she can't talk to travel agents or Celebrity's agents but that I could call them myself. I asked why she couldn't talk to somebody who gets their paycheck from the same employer as she does and I got no response. Did she dial them for me ?? Hell no... and once I did the wait was 25 minutes so I informed her that she was stuck with me for the next half hour.

After 28 minutes an agent came on and I had to explain this crazy situation once more. A situation I can't believe was happening. Why couldn't Guest Relations take my reservation receipt as proof?

The agent told me she saw many notes attached to my reservation but no 123Go Promotion and she was putting me on hold to read them.

Another 7-8 min go by and the agent returns telling me she has no clue why everything ONCE AGAIN fell of the reservation but that she was putting it back on and that Guest Relations should now see it. Moments later our Miss Guest Relations did see it and did issue us the Classic Drink Package. I asked about then upgrading it to Premium and was told she can't and to go accross the way to the Passport Bar. This to me made no sense but I was so ready to leave the presence of Guest Relations as I still wanted to take my hands and place them on Miss Guest Relation's throat.

 

NEVER did she once tell me she was sorry or apologize for the inconvenience. The whole time I felt like she thought I was lying and I was trying to pull off something. Personally I feel she should have done something to smooth the situation like a 20% discount to a specialty restaurant but to not even apologize was inexplicable. She was one of the first faces I dealt with aboard the ship and it left a damaging impression. Was this going to be what Celebrity is all about ? Had I made a big mistake booking this cruise?

 

I left Guest Relations with my wife in tears and we went over to the Passport Bar and upgraded our Classic to Premium Package. I needed a drink. Sure nice that it was free ... 45 minutes later.

[ghstudio]

Unfortunate that your first encounter with someone on board wasn't pleasant...that's a bit unusual and I would talk with her boss and/or the hotel director about it when you run across them during the cruise. That's not the way you should be treated....especially when you had a print out showing that it was included. I have never heard that guest services can't call someone in Celebrity...that's bizarre (and wrong)....but I do understand they can't call a travel agent.

 

Now it's time to kick back...forget that incident and enjoy your cruise.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Think there's a drama queen on CC :rolleyes:

[hcat]

Kind of odd that Celeb did not add it immed. Esp because they had their proof. On our last cruise ...also on silho .many had proof of the packkage with them but it was not on the seapass card. Everyone was lined up at guest rel. Staff quickly added it . It was an inconvenience but resolved...

[Christine Frances]

Think there's a drama queen on CC :rolleyes:

 

Really? I agree with OP - not a very good first impression:(

[Kiran]

I swear you must have had the same checkin agent that we did.

 

Just an unpleasant person!

[ghstudio]

Think there's a drama queen on CC :rolleyes:

 

huh? Who are you suggesting is a drama queen....please explain because to me, it seems a really strange comment???

Edited April 14, 2014 by ghstudio

[Ma Bell]

Sometimes things happen. When they tell you they will take care of it but it may take until the next day it's usually best to just go on your way and let them get it sorted out. The in your face, confrontational approach isn't really the best solution. It's usually you that is upset when there really is no need to be.

 

Glad to hear it was taken care of but I'm also sure it would have been without raised voices and standing there.

[ghstudio]

Sometimes things happen. When they tell you they will take care of it but it may take until the next day it's usually best to just go on your way and let them get it sorted out. The in your face, confrontational approach isn't really the best solution. It's usually you that is upset when there really is no need to be.

 

Glad to hear it was taken care of but I'm also sure it would have been without raised voices and standing there.

 

I pretty much agree with you, however most of us have been in situations where the agent (in person or on the phone) is using the "a person I'm no longer speaking to no longer has a problem" approach. The correct approach would probably have been for the rep to go to their manager and the manager could have talked with the passenger off to the side or in an office. The agent pretty much forced the confrontation by the way she handled it....with zero compassion (of course we only have one side of the story).

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Really? I agree with OP - not a very good first impression:(

 

Posting a bit of it at time, makes a drama queen, and they got their package what is the big deal, , there is almost 3,000 boarding at one time, there going to be screw ups

 

And raising your voice , what is with that :eek:, sounds childish to me :rolleyes: