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

[cpj]

Here we go again....why are some of you even discussing why his wife may have cried or whether it was right or wrong, etc. Deal with the issue....Personally, I think Celebrity blew it big time, but I chalk it up to one employee who understood the mechanics of her job, but didn't really understand her real job which is customer satisfaction. Others may differ...but let's not try to analyze the OP's wife's reactions....she was obviously upset and folks demonstrate being upset in different ways...she chose (subconsciously) to cry.

 

I suggest that everyone go back and review the guidelines for posts on cc....even if you think you know them, it's a good refresher.

This is one of the reasons that I left Celebrity after more then 20 cruises. I lot of grumpy old people on there ships and I understand why Celebrity is trying to attract a younger crowd. Just was on NCL Getaway and it was nice being around a younger crowd. Im 68 and I really had a great time.and another thing Celebrity does not even come close to entertainment the NCL has.

[jzad]

I take no issue with the poster's approach. I think some people who go on multiple cruises a year forget how special this vacation is to people who are not afforded the opportunity to cruise on a frequent basis. It makes sense to resolve a problem at the outset so it does not linger throughout the cruise. Sometime persistence is the only way to address the situation-- especially when you have a representative who seems not to care. What makes one think this would be resolved the next day?

 

As for the crying, these things happen especially when you have such high expectations for a cruise and then you are thrown a curveball that could put a damper on one's experience. It is stress that one does not want. A few years back, my wife and I, for our 10th anniversary, were going on an Oceania Cruise that was leaving out of Istanbul. At that time, I was flying almost exclusively on United and was averaging a 100k a year. We get to the airport and check in the Premier line and I have been informed that we I had been moved from Economy Plus to the back of the plane and my wife had no seat and was now wait listed. The agent could have cared less and gave no rationale other than the plane was overbooked. My wife started to cry as the implications meant this vacation could become a nightmare. I talked to her supervisor and he could have cared less. We headed to the gate to see if we could remedy the situation. In the meantime, I called Mileage Plus to inform them of this situation. It was safe to say that they were shocked how we had been treated. By the time we got to the gate, they were speaking to the gate agent. The situation was somewhat rectified. We both got on the plane but sat apart from each other.

 

Very well said!

[tarheelmjfan]

And leaving the desk in tears, over a drink package.....?

 

 

I can totally understand how some people would get that upset over this situation. For many people, vacation is a luxury they save years for. When they have the budget set, they expect the things they've already paid for to not cost them more. Faced with this situations the OP could have paid for drinks all day & take a chance he wouldn't be credited for them. That may not have been in their budget. To guarantee this didn't occur they could have drunk only free drinks on the first day. That would mean they couldn't take full advantage of what they paid for. A lot of people would be very upset over that happening on their much anticipated vacation. Some cry, some don't. That doesn't make one superior to the other.

 

 

This is not directed specifically at cle-guy.....

 

Some people take multiple vacations a year & have a high budget for each of them. It appears that many of them can't relate to those who don't. It's easy to ignore mishaps, if you're going to be going on another vacation in a few months then another a few months after that. IMHO, some people need to learn to relate or keep their thoughts to themselves. Maybe, they don't realize how bad some of their posts make them appear. Surely, no one is as rude in real life as some people are here. Unfortunately, every board on here has a handful of these posters who can really ruin the experience for everyone. It gets old, when it's the same people repeatedly.

[beverly_kaye]

I'm sorry for your trouble but either the girl at guest relations learned something from your situation or else I talked to someone else. I purchased the drink package for my husband and when we checked the statement after the first day, we were being charged for drinks. I checked at guest relations and was told I purchased the package after the cards were printed. She added it to the card (took seconds) and the previous purchases were credited.

 

I wonder if I sat by you all at one of the shows? We were in the first row and I sat by a young girl. She was asked to move because children aren't allowed to sit in the front row. I thought that was ridiculous. And I was really disappointed because the girl was so sweet and I enjoyed talking with her.

 

Bev

[Colorado Buffalo]

I'm sorry for your trouble but either the girl at guest relations learned something from your situation or else I talked to someone else. I purchased the drink package for my husband and when we checked the statement after the first day, we were being charged for drinks. I checked at guest relations and was told I purchased the package after the cards were printed. She added it to the card (took seconds) and the previous purchases were credited.

 

I wonder if I sat by you all at one of the shows? We were in the first row and I sat by a young girl. She was asked to move because children aren't allowed to sit in the front row. I thought that was ridiculous. And I was really disappointed because the girl was so sweet and I enjoyed talking with her.

 

Bev

 

lol...that was us ;) we thought that was a dumb rule but it didn't upset me believe it or not... by then we were having a great time

[cruisedancemom]

Please continue with your review - love your humor and point of view. :D

[ClaudiaB]

I have really enjoyed your review and do hope you return to continue, however you choose to share with us. I found I was coming back here a couple times a day to check on updates.

[blambition]

I too would love to hear more of your review thanks for posting!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[jnl617]

I think you did t

what worked for you and helped you comfort level for the balance of the cruise. That was a good move...

 

Now please finish you review, I want to read the next chapters before I get on the Silhoutte this weekend for our TA to Rome.

 

Thanks for the info

 

Jeff

Edited April 16, 2014 by jnl617

[Colorado Buffalo]

Sail Away-

 

I'm back :o Just put in a 10 hour day at work. My review will continue.

Nobody can scare me away. I enjoyed almost everybody aboard our ship and I enjoy most of the folks here on CC. anyway .... where did I leave off ??

 

 

Oh yes... the muster drill had just ended ...

 

Is it just me or is that a waste of time ? So many people jammed close together in the Deck 5 Photo Gallery talking so one couldn't hear what was being said and where we were it was difficult to see the screen. One would think there would be a better way to present the drill ...maybe have the presentation online ? you could accept it like you do when disclosures are read ? probably not as people need to know where to meet in an emergency. No big deal ...:rolleyes:

 

.... and we grabbed a drink for sail away and headed back to our room to

view sail away from our balcony. We were on port side and had family at home who were going to try and find us at portevergladeswebcam.com.

A week earlier my good friend sailed out of Port Everglades and we did see them on the webcam.... my parents didn't see us though.

 

We left at 4:35 p.m. and once in the Atlantic we all took showers and changed into our 'smart casual for dinner in the Grand Cuvee Main Dining Room. We had 'select dining' so knew to enter from the 4th floor. We arrived just after 6 p.m. and got a window seat right away. I was surprised that right after sitting down the waiter was placing a napkin in my lap. I didn't dislike it but when one has a 5 year old you usually don't go out to fine dining establishments. Red Robin is as fancy as it gets for us at home.

 

My wife and I ended up ordering mostly off the left side on the menu. She got the caesar salad and said it was one of the best she ever has had and I got the french onion soup which was excellent. My wife got the salmon and liked it and I got the sirloin steak. My steak was cooked to perfection, tasted great but was a bit tough... still enjoyed it though. A children's menu was provided which I thought was great. It included the usual hamburger, hot dog, mac & cheese, chicken fingers as well as tuna in a pita, fish & chips with choice of corn, peas, carrots, mash potatoes or fries with chocolate cake or ice cream for desert. My daughter got the mac & cheese and peas. I tried the mac & cheese it it was much better than what you would get from KRAFT. My only complaint is that the portions my daughter got nightly was too much. We wasted so much food.

Creme Brulee was for desert and was as good as expected and my daughter got the chocolate cake which was so much better than I imagined.

 

I forgot to mention that nightly a sommelier was offered to help assist in our wine choices. He always asked what drink package we had and never tried to select a wine that was over the $13.00 per glass max. Every night we used his services and he was always spot-on. I miss him. ;)

 

After dinner we had about 30 min to kill before the Silhouette Theater

would open up for the 8:30 p.m. show so we decided to explore the ship.

The vibe was electric. People were sure enjoying the fact that their vacations had just begun. Just before 8 p.m. we headed back to theater just as the doors were opening as we wanted to get a great seat. (the theater would open 1/2 hr each night b4 the show) We first sat in the front row, a request my daughter made, but shortly after sitting down were told no children in the first two rows for safety reasons. We didn't understand the rule but it didn't upset us and we obliged and moved back to the third row. Personally I thought our seats were better back further anyways.

The show was called "The Tenors of Rock" which was five British singers harmonizing together rock songs. They were incredible. From what I can tell they were a special engagement who are not normally on-board weekly.

I ran into them later on the elevator and they told me they were exiting the ship in Cozumel and would be heading back to England.

Here's what they were like-

 

Once the show was over it was back to the room we went as there was a 5 year old who was ready for bed. She was so excited to see chocolates were left on our pillows and the beds turned down. I think I mentioned it earlier but can't recall but a towel animal was also on her bed and would be every night the rest of the cruise.

 

What a roller coaster of a day. We were way up and excited the morning leading up to boarding the ship to be let down by an unfortunate incident as soon as we were aboard. I was appalled at the lack of empathy and no effort to help us. Thankfully after I did 90% of the work that I feel the Guest Relations rep should have done, things were resolved and our coaster ride was back way up after a marvelous dinner and a wonderful show. We would sleep very good that night.

[Seattle@heart]

Glad to see you're back!! I'm very much enjoying your review ~~ thanks for continuing to post.

[upwarduk]

I believe these boards are in part due to the reaction of the OP.

There is not a day goes by, when someone is criticising Celebrity.

Not that I'm saying that in some situations they are due for it, but it would make a change not to continually read about the IT problems etc.etc.etc

 

Can we please have more positive comments, instead of everyone putting in their 2 pence of negative vibes.:eek:

[drarill]

Sail Away-

 

I'm back :o Just put in a 10 hour day at work. My review will continue.

Nobody can scare me away. I enjoyed almost everybody aboard our ship and I enjoy most of the folks here on CC. anyway .... where did I leave off ??

 

 

 

Great to have you back!! I'm enjoying your review, looking forward to the rest!!:)

[Stede Bonnet]

Thanks for coming back

Did you purchase a non-alcoholic package for your daughter or was she happy with the included drinks and the occasional purchased drink?

What would you recommend?

[DebbieMacG]

Thanks for coming back and continuing with the review :)

 

Stede bonnet - I'm not the OP but we cruised last year also with a five year old. We didn't buy her a package as she's too young to get real benefit from it (wouldn't have drunk more than a sip of soda and no coffee etc) she was happy with the milk, chocolate milk, orange juice etc and on a couple of occasions she had some fizzy lemonade as a treat and hot chocolate. The staff are very very accommodating with children. For example our waiter had a bowl of fresh berries and a glass of cold milk waiting for her every night, he was fantastic with her! (Allan on Equinox) :)

[Stede Bonnet]

Thanks DebbieMacG

Neither of mine are milk drinkers but they enjoy juice and smoothies.

I plan on walking with small packs of the soy based hot drink mix they prefer at night as well.

It will probably be cheaper to just buy one or two smoothies a day rather than a package

Edited April 16, 2014 by Stede Bonnet

[dwhe]

...... I was appalled at the lack of empathy and no effort to help us......

 

I think that's the thing that would have got me, when working with the public you need buckets full of empathy even if you couldn't give a &%$.

[rbsmithpaige]

I think that's the thing that would have got me, when working with the public you need buckets full of empathy even if you couldn't give a &%$.

 

You don't need it, you just need to act as if you do. It's not that difficult.

[helen haywood]

I am so sorry for the OP and I completely understand what a terrible experience he had with the Guest Relations person. In Celebrity's defense I would like to say I had an issue with OBC not appearing on a cruise on Equinox and I went to Guest Relations to inquire about it. It was OBC from X. A very nice young man asked if I had my reservation number. I didn't right then but emailed my TA and got it. Went back to the desk and the nice young man contacted Celebrity stateside and the issue was resolved. So Guest Relations can be a good experience. Just don't want anyone reading this to think this experience is the norm.

 

But that does not take away at all that I reiterate the OP's experience absolutely should not have been handled in this appalling manner.

[mikeysed]

OP or anyone, can you answer me this:

 

I have classic beverage as part of the 123GO. ANY abr on the ship can upgrade me to the premium? How do they do that, what is different that a bar can do that? Wouldn't you need a new Seapass card or no?

 

Also, OP or anyone else... was the extra charge for the premium put on your ship card that is posted on your tv so therefore it could be taken out of OBC?

[vulcan1971]

OP or anyone, can you answer me this:

 

I have classic beverage as part of the 123GO. ANY abr on the ship can upgrade me to the premium? How do they do that, what is different that a bar can do that? Wouldn't you need a new Seapass card or no?

 

Also, OP or anyone else... was the extra charge for the premium put on your ship card that is posted on your tv so therefore it could be taken out of OBC?

 

Any bar can upgrade your seapass card. A sticker will be added to designate this. The difference in cost will show on your account for each person that was upgraded.

 

Sent from my Samsung Note 2 on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network

[mikeysed]

Any bar can upgrade your seapass card. A sticker will be added to designate this. The difference in cost will show on your account for each person that was upgraded.

 

Sent from my Samsung Note 2 on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network

 

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

And with that said, once on the ship everything gets charged to your account. Anything on the account can be deducted from OBC?

 

Reason I have asked these things are I have $225 OBC from my TA.. and I don't want to lay out the extra $$ for premium, but have it deducted from my OBC... so once I get on the ship, I will have the first bar I go to upgrade me... it will show on my account on the tv and the money charged can be taken from the OBC I have.

[vulcan1971]

Thank you for your reply.

 

And with that said, once on the ship everything gets charged to your account. Anything on the account can be deducted from OBC?

 

Reason I have asked these things are I have $225 OBC from my TA.. and I don't want to lay out the extra $$ for premium, but have it deducted from my OBC... so once I get on the ship, I will have the first bar I go to upgrade me... it will show on my account on the tv and the money charged can be taken from the OBC I have.

 

Correct.

 

Your onboard expenses will be deducted from the available OBC until it has been exhausted.

 

Sent from my Samsung Note 2 on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network

Edited April 16, 2014 by vulcan1971

[Lsimon]

Thank you for your reply.

 

And with that said, once on the ship everything gets charged to your account. Anything on the account can be deducted from OBC?

 

Reason I have asked these things are I have $225 OBC from my TA.. and I don't want to lay out the extra $$ for premium, but have it deducted from my OBC... so once I get on the ship, I will have the first bar I go to upgrade me... it will show on my account on the tv and the money charged can be taken from the OBC I have.

 

Yes, everything you charge gets deducted from the OBC. You do not have to specify something as being for the OBC.

 

Your onboard account looks just like a credit card statement. All your charges show as positive numbers and the OBC, as well as any payments you make, show as negative numbers. At the end of the cruise you pay the ending balance or it is charged automatically to the credit card you give them at check in.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Welcome back, Colorado Buffalo! Glad to see you're continuing your review.