Disappointing First Time on Celebrity

[Big_G]

The negatives...

- The bar service time was awful (sometimes up to 20 minutes in the sky lounge)

- The bar staff were uninterested, did not engage and were less than attentive.

 

JMHO but you can probably thank the 123Go and/or Pick Your Perk deals. On our Reflection cruise in March, the bar staff was flat out busy. There were no less bartenders than our previous cruise on the same ship. Almost no one was signing slips. It wouldn't bother me if they eliminated the package from future promotions. I'd still buy it. :D

[jasm8449]

I too, feel taken in by my 123go cruise purchase. We opted for the classic drink package, which we expected to receive as described on Celebrity's website at the time of our deposit. I agree it does feel like a bait and switch. I also agree that providing an OBC to those who received as a perk, or purchased a classic drink package to enable them to enjoy the level of drinks they were promised.

 

On our Reflection Caribbean cruise this past March, it was frustrating to see the staff standing in groups of two or three, conversing with each other, while tables were left uncleared.

[NLH Arizona]

Hopefully Celebrity is reading this and will take the action to no longer have a drink package as part of any of their future promotions. That way, if they raise any of the prices, there will not be any complaints. They can just offer OBC or gratuities. But wait, if they ever change the suggested amount of the gratuities, that will then be a problem. Oh well, maybe they should just offer OBC, but just to be careful, maybe they should say that prices of things onboard may change, because I can see it now. Someone was going to use their OBC for a t-shirt and it was $6.00 when they booked their cruise, but now it is $7.00. I guess Celebrity is in a no win situation here, so best just not to offer any promotions.

[neptuno]

Hopefully Celebrity is reading this and will take the action to no longer have a drink package as part of any of their future promotions. That way, if they raise any of the prices, there will not be any complaints. They can just offer OBC or gratuities. But wait, if they ever change the suggested amount of the gratuities, that will then be a problem. Oh well, maybe they should just offer OBC, but just to be careful, maybe they should say that prices of things onboard may change, because I can see it now. Someone was going to use their OBC for a t-shirt and it was $6.00 when they booked their cruise, but now it is $7.00. I guess Celebrity is in a no win situation here, so best just not to offer any promotions.

 

Some people just don't understand: If one offers someone a Glenfiddich and pours a house whiskey, who's the jerk.

[NLH Arizona]

Some people just don't understand: If one offers someone a Glenfiddich and pours a house whiskey, who's the jerk.

All I'm saying is that Celebrity should no long offer a drink package or gratuities on any promotions, so that the complaints/problems will not happen again.

 

BTW, if I were on a cruise and they poured me Black Label Johnny Walker instead of Blue Label Johnny Walker, I'd just say thank you and drink it.

 

I know you are not calling me a jerk!!!!

[Iamcruzin]

Hopefully Celebrity is reading this and will take the action to no longer have a drink package as part of any of their future promotions. That way, if they raise any of the prices, there will not be any complaints. They can just offer OBC or gratuities. But wait, if they ever change the suggested amount of the gratuities, that will then be a problem. Oh well, maybe they should just offer OBC, but just to be careful, maybe they should say that prices of things onboard may change, because I can see it now. Someone was going to use their OBC for a t-shirt and it was $6.00 when they booked their cruise, but now it is $7.00. I guess Celebrity is in a no win situation here, so best just not to offer any promotions.

 

How about the passengers who paid for the classic package under the assumption that there would be certain brands available with that package? Do they just get screwed? Celebrity offers a discount if you purchase the package before you sail. If you are basing your decision to purchase the classic package from the website and they change the selection by the time you board that is just false advertising and you are no longer saving by prepaying.

[Shake]

How about the passengers who paid for the classic package under the assumption that there would be certain brands available with that package? Do they just get screwed?

 

I'm not so sure to the OP is valid in saying they change brands mid sailing on the guests.

 

There is no factual data to back this claim up.

[neptuno]

I'm not so sure to the OP is valid in saying they change brands mid sailing on the guests. There is no factual data to back this claim up.

 

The 'factual data' is what others are posting, the Classic package is degraded, and those who booked and paid for it are left with a dissapointing replacement.

[chamima]

We boarded on Saturday and have the Classic Package, as some 1500 passengers onboard do. The first day we noticed the price of drinks had increased, not just because the service charge is included with cruises departing the UK but against any recent menu postings on this forum and against our Eclipse trip last July.

 

Additionally, the limits for the Classic Package had changed. It now reads as (all incl 15% tip):

 

Wine by the Glass up to $10.50

Cocktails and Spirits up to $9.50

All other soft drinks, coffees/tea, frozen drinks, non premium water, smoothies and beers up to £7.

 

Now we had a struggle the first day. We couldnt find a single bar menu that had a cocktail below the $9.50 level. Additionally the price of spirits wasnt on any menu anywhere. However, armed with a list of included brands for the Classic package as per Celebrity UKs website (as posted on another thread) we ordered a Tanqeray G+T, response 'not included', what about Bombay Sapphire? 'Not included but we can give you Gordons'. So basically lots of stuff previously available has now been priced over the Classic maximum price level.

 

So being a little perplexed we headed to Guest Relations and I said we were confused as we didnt know what spirits were included nor could we find a bar menu showing any cocktails that were included. We were handed a pretty basis in-house A4 sheet showing the drinks that were now included since changes to the package were introduced last week. Wow was that a truncated list compared to last year and the list on Xs website! At least the list showed about 20 cocktails but way less than last year. Also the list was only being given out to those asking about inclusions at Guest Relations. We are our third day and keep meeting people who have no idea what is included as they dont have the list from Guest Relations. Additionally we keep being told by barstaff we can have drinks not shown on that list which are on their system as available to us but not on the list so even the list isnt correct!

 

I spoke with the Food and Beverage Manager today about this. Whilst not having very high requirements for top shelf brands I showed him the list from the website and said we had booked when X had the 123 Promo and had viewed the brands available under the Classic Package at that time and indeed had checked again the week before our cruise. However we now find that they have cut back on whats covered but we only now about that now we are onboard. He kindly advised if something that was included before now isnt then maybe we might want to pay to upgrade to the premium package! Great, so to get what we expected was part of the promo we now have to pay more! He wouldnt budge a inch and said this was fleet wide and had come from Head Office and there was nothng he could do.

 

Do I smell a rat here? Have they lured thousands of people onto cruises with their free Classic drinks package only to then restrict whats available to push more people to upgrade their package? I can only imagine there are going to be a lot of unhappy passengers in the weeks/months to come.

 

Ive tried to photo the lists so hopefully you can read them.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

The lists were changed May 1st, and have been posted. Reference "Kevinyork".

 

Is this what you wanted?

[Shake]

Is this what you wanted?

 

Thank you. Same as the Celebrity website.

[cpj]

Full time professionals need medical benefits, paid vacations and sick days. Why pay out the benefits when there are plenty of travel agents who can book the cruise and all they are paid is a commission.

Very true. I always use a travel agent. Was refering to the PVP who work at Celebrity you know the ones who have never been on a cruise.

[ThursdaysChild]

I'm not so sure to the OP is valid in saying they change brands mid sailing on the guests.

 

There is no factual data to back this claim up.

 

I don't know about mid-sailing, but on my recent back to back on Solstice the wines I drank on the first leg that were part of the Premium package to which I paid to upgrade were an upsell at charges ranging from $.50 to $4.00 per glass on the 2nd leg. So,some drink prices went up on Solstice on 4/28.

 

Molecular Bar and Martini Bar prices were still covered under the Premium package.

[Shake]

I don't know about mid-sailing,

 

Neither does imacruzine or neptuno. Making unfounded accusations and assumptions is their thing. :D:D

Edited May 13, 2014 by Shake

[jgreenwo17]

The 90% that met or exceeded expetations:

 

AQ cabin was the best cabin in 8 cruises. All the little extras meant alot.

 

Staff from the customer relations desk to the stateroom attendants were the best and friendliest I have encountered on a cruise.

 

Blu is the best overall restaurant at sea. Staff is excellent. Food very good to excellent.

First cruise where I ate very well and did not gain weight! Excellent wine service.

 

Best gym I have encountered at sea.

 

Entertainment was always good to excellent.

 

Shopping venues are better than any other cruise I have been on.

 

Onboard activities from lectures to trivia, bingo, dance classes were all well done.

 

The vibe at the martini and molecular bars are classy and just too cool.

 

The ship was a pleasure to be aboard. Solstice is a super model.

 

Celebrity is a great brand and has built a great reputation over the years.

 

BUT.....

 

The things that bug me (And X isn't the only line that does this) is the profiteering at the expense of a truly exceptional customer experience. The profits will take care of themselves if you give the customers what they want. (Within reason).

[cynicalscotsman]

No games played. Celebrity posts all their Classic labels in writing. It's there as, "big as day"

 

This was my biggest gripe of the cruise, as I stated at the start.

 

They didn't!

 

There were no menus available for the first day and a half and when they did publish their new bar menus they had no drinks priced in the classic package included.

 

They did eventually publish a list (only via guest services) of drinks included but then this changed! Bacardi became a premium drink first... then smirnoff ice... then baileys!

 

In the last couple of days they then decided that they would publish a cocktail list (again via guest services, not the bars).

 

We upgraded as planned half way through but IMHO the reason behind everything being so secretive around what is included was simply a tactic to get people to upgrade - this was very underhand.

 

I was expecting a better experience than what we received on-board so i'm glad that the celebrity rep has came on here and said they were looking into the problems. Hopefully they can sort it out because it really was not the impression celebrity should give to people as it has marred my views on the brand.

[The_Big_M]

Hopefully Celebrity is reading this and will take the action to no longer have a drink package as part of any of their future promotions. That way, if they raise any of the prices, there will not be any complaints.

 

Why would there not be any complaints?

 

If someone's paid for their package in advance, if Celebrity materially changes its inclusions, they're not going to be happy. They're getting less than what they agreed to pay for.

 

Either way, they're not keeping up their end of the bargain. Nobody likes someone that breaks the deal after it's been made.

[tine-tine]

I too have found the supervision and training of staff to be sadly lacking. There appears to be no constructive management of waiters or staffing levels in the buffet and tables are allowed to pile up with the debris of dining. If the table happens to be on the waiters route back and forward to their clearing area you are ok but I have observed the staff who clear tables wandering around, ignoring tables piled with dishes and empty of diners. I frequently have asked staff to clear my table, I have raised this with the managers and very little gets done to improve the situation. The worst occasion was on Eclipse last year when, after becoming frustrated watching one waiter in the ocean view bar ignoring the tables, we were actually finding it quite amusing how he could brazenly go about doing nothing, we asked him nicely to clear our table and he told us snappily to 'wait' then wandered off in a strop, still doing nothing. I could not believe his audacity! He did eventually return but not with good grace. I am generalising when I make these comments as some of the waiting staff are very industrious with or without management and don't need anyone to tell them to do their jobs. Self pride in your work should be part of your reward, well in my life anyway.

[TommyD3]

Thank you Celebrity. Hopefully you will compensate those of us who booked back when the original Classic beverage menus were in effect. A very simple gesture would be to offer an OBC to offset the cost of the upgrade to Premium.

 

Actually what they need to do is raise the dollar limit onboard for both the Classic and Premium packages so that the limit covers the same drinks as before.

 

If that requires charging more per day when the drink packages are sold then so be it.

[miched]

If it is a real classic package than they should serve the real "classics" Four Roses, Imperial, Kessler, Schilitz, Blatz, Old Style, Bali Hi, Boones Farm, Rocket, MD 20/20 (Mad Dog), Colt 45, Mickeys, Arrow, Poppov, Old Crow, Wild Turkey, Cutty Sark, J&b, .....

 

 

🍸🍺🍻

[CruisingChick]

Actually what they need to do is raise the dollar limit onboard for both the Classic and Premium packages so that the limit covers the same drinks as before.

 

If that requires charging more per day when the drink packages are sold then so be it.

 

Yea, but they gave a ton away with the PYP promotion. Now I guess they are sorry they did so have to back track by changing what's on the package.

[NLH Arizona]

Why would there not be any complaints?

 

If someone's paid for their package in advance, if Celebrity materially changes its inclusions, they're not going to be happy. They're getting less than what they agreed to pay for.

 

Either way, they're not keeping up their end of the bargain. Nobody likes someone that breaks the deal after it's been made.

If you read my post, I said that Celebrity should not offer drink packages in any future promotions, thus there would be no complaints.

 

IMHO, you are getting unlimited free drinks and that is what the drink package was.

[cle-guy]

- The oceanview at lunch was a nightmare - there are not enough seats and it seems a lot of guests seem to stay there for hours on end watching people struggle to find somewhere to eat.

 

This was true as well on my TA this spring to Southampton. They even pulled 1 page of the drink menu out of the table tents menus and put a card in its place asking people to relinquish the seat when done eating for other to eat.

 

I do think there are actually plenty of seats, but find many people won't bother to communally dine especially on the 6 and 8 top table areas. Instead we will just complain there are no seats when in fact there are seats, just have to share a table. I like to dine alone for lunch personally, but always seek a shared table or a 2 top, never taking over a 4 top or larger for myself unless the place is dead quiet.

 

Some people just don't understand common courtesy. There are SOOOO many other places on the ship to gather and chat and sit and stare for hours on end....the buffet isn't that place, especially when it's jam packed

 

I also just avoided the 12:00 rush going at 11 or 1.

[The_Big_M]

If you read my post, I said that Celebrity should not offer drink packages in any future promotions, thus there would be no complaints.

 

IMHO, you are getting unlimited free drinks and that is what the drink package was.

 

I read your post. If you read mine, you would see I was pointing out that there would still be complaints in that situation, due to people who had paid for the package.

 

You would reduce the complaints as there would be less holders, but it would not stop the complaints from such a change.

 

As for the last statement, no, the package defined the type of drinks included. If it was just unlimited of some type of drink, then you could well have gotten just the basic non-alcoholic package. If there was nothing to distinguish them, then there may as well be one type of package. They have different types as they covered different types and brands of drinks. It is disingenuous to try to turn the package into something different from what it was.

[NLH Arizona]

I read your post. If you read mine, you would see I was pointing out that there would still be complaints in that situation, due to people who had paid for the package.

 

You would reduce the complaints as there would be less holders, but it would not stop the complaints from such a change.

 

As for the last statement, no, the package defined the type of drinks included. If it was just unlimited of some type of drink, then you could well have gotten just the basic non-alcoholic package. If there was nothing to distinguish them, then there may as well be one type of package. They have different types as they covered different types and brands of drinks. It is disingenuous to try to turn the package into something different from what it was.

I'm talking about in the future, after this promotion ends in March or 2015. How could there be a complaint, if Celebrity doesn't offer the package in their promotions, no one would have one. Those cruising under the new promotion (sans a drink package) would have nothing to complain about, well I'm sure they would have something, probably that Celebrity doesn't offer the drink package anymore.

Edited May 13, 2014 by NLH Arizona

[The_Big_M]

I'm talking about in the future, after this promotion ends in March or 2015. How could there be a complaint, if Celebrity doesn't offer the package in their promotions, no one would have one.

 

People would still have one, as the promotion just offers something that can also be bought. People would continue to buy it, unless they stopped selling the package as well.

 

As you only talked about the promotion, complaints would still exist from those who bought it. Nobody likes to pay for something and then not get it.