What next?

[Truffle]

This wasn't a review. I'm sure the OP can figure out how to submit a review should the occasion arise.

 

This is a heads up to another change that we can expect on our Celebrity cruise. Several of us have thanked the OP for this information because it's useful to know. If Qtips and cotton balls don't concern you, it's ok to just read and not comment, especially if you don't have anything to add.

 

Agreed!

[LarissaRose]

Just got back from a Baltic cruise on the Constellation in Aqua class. We had Q-tips and cotton balls (However, i bring my own as I'm picky about brands) and face clothes. Same observation with the chocolates though. Got them only on the second night and then never again. We also never got any towel animals which made me sad:(.

 

Not so much a cut back but a weird situation:

 

In AQ there is supposed to be an "upgraded" room service menu. We were looking at the main menu and there was basically nothing on it, so thought that maybe it was just the breakfast menu, looked at the breakfast menu and it was also extremely limited. We asked our room steward about it and he reassured us it was the proper menu. Eventually I looked online at cruise critic to see where past AQ room service menus had been posted and sure enough ours was missing a bunch of things! We talked to some other people we met about their menus (non-AQ) and they had the same menu as us. Now we were just suspicious / curious so went to guest services to ask about the menu, they too assured as we had the appropriate one. I even asked "I thought there were supposed to be smoothies on the AQ menu...?" and got a laugh from the guest service representative. My husband and I eventually just figured it was a major cut back and just not a perk anymore so didn't look at the menu for a few days as nothing on it interested us. Low and behold when we did look a few days later it had been replaced with the correct AQ upgraded menu (smoothies and all!)... Just weird that multiple employees assured us we had the correct one and I even got laughed at for implying we didn't :-/ ...

 

sorry for the derail / tangent!

[richstowe]

Thank you OP for your observations. I have only cruised X twice but there were clear cut-backs

between the 2 and more changes (some people have a problem calling them cut-backs) since.

 

 

We've just returned from our first land holiday for 5 years.

 

What struck us was that the hotel was far better than before (not happy to move backwards) and there were far more perks - they offered the cool drinks and cold towel in the foyer when we came in each day, a glass of champagne when we checked in, a turn down service with biscuits and a bottle of water, special 'free' BBQ evenings, no gratuities, waiter service around the pool, specialist restaurant included at no extra charge (I could go on and on) and many other little things that made it that extra bit special this time. We actually thought that someone on the 'team' had been on a cruise in the past and brought back some of the ideas! :)

 

What we are noticing about cruising with Celebrity, and cruising in general, is that the prices go up and up, but the 'little' things that made it special just don't happen anymore.

 

I think this is what the OP meant by their original post and think that those who have criticised them for the little things they miss are missing the point ---- for many of us 'those little things mean a lot'.

 

We are looking to our next holiday ------- at the moment, with all the little things being eroded we will not book with Celebrity as their prices are going up and up. If we pay more we expect more - not less. Surely everyone can agree with that. :confused: We have a cruise booked for July 2015 - it has something to live up to after this year's holiday.

Great points. Overall cruising still offers good value (perhaps due to low salaries and low taxes)

but the difference is not so cut and dry.

Perhaps my problem with Celebrity was how great our first cruise was and how ordinary the second one was.

Perhaps my expectations were too high.

[NLH Arizona]

Edit: I'm not talking about cost cutting here - I can see that the Vanity packs are probably more expensive, what I'm getting at is the alarmist comments of some posters, where no alarm is needed.

I agree, why get alarmed. One poster (and another who agreed with her observations, but didn't say if they had washcloths or not) said she didn't get any washcloths, while five said they got them on their cruise (one poster was even on the Baltics cruise) and posters are already saying there is a cutback in washcloths. I guess it is easier to say cutbacks, then to wait until one's next cruise and see what the real deal is.

 

As far as the cotton balls and q-tips, does it really matter if there is a jar of them or a vanity pack with a few in it? If you require more, it really doesn't take up any room (or weight for that matter) to pack a few cotton balls and some q-tips.

[Cruising89143]

Three cruises on X since March 2013 including 13 nights in June on the EQ. Did not notice any changes from the first cruise to the the last cruise two months ago. As a matter of fact the EQ in June ranked as one of my best in almost thirty years of cruising.

[varoo]

As far as the cotton balls and q-tips, does it really matter if there is a jar of them or a vanity pack with a few in it? If you require more, it really doesn't take up any room (or weight for that matter) to pack a few cotton balls and some q-tips.

It is a matter of expectation.

 

If you always bring along your own hair dryer, you might not notice or care if they suddenly stopped providing a hair dryer, but someone who always uses the ship's hair dryer would care.

 

The same would be true for the bathrobes, or shower caps, or body lotion, or just about anything else they always provided previously if it were suddenly no longer available -- as long as it was something that mattered to you.

 

They could easily clean/disinfect those plastic containers for the cotton balls between cruises, just as they clean the ice buckets (or at least I hope they do).

 

General rule: Don't cut corners on the features that I care about.

Cut out the things other people care about that I consider wasteful and don't want or need or enjoy. :D

 

 

Be it towel animals or pillow chocolates or cotton balls or water pitchers or canapes or fruit in the cabin, or which type of music or entertainment should stay or go, the arguments will continue.

 

 

If only they would inform us in advance of what they are eliminating, that would be helpful so we could know what additional things we will need to pack.

 

But finding out such things is one of the reasons to read Cruise Critic. ;)

 

I have often thought it would be helpful if they would provide an online checklist for each cabin that you could fill out in advance to let them know which items/features you do or don't want.

 

Give the towel animals to those who want them and don't waste time on them for those who could not care less about towel animals.

One of us wants a bathrobe, and the other never uses one, but we always get two.

 

Another feature that comes to mind is the minibar, that many of us want emptied out. So they go and stock it at the beginning of every cruise, then need to empty it, then need to re-stock it again.

What a waste of time and effort.

 

[NLH Arizona]

It is a matter of expectation.

 

If you always bring along your own hair dryer, you might not notice or care if they suddenly stopped providing a hair dryer, but someone who always uses the ship's hair dryer would care.

 

The same would be true for the bathrobes, or shower caps, or body lotion, or just about anything else they always provided previously if it were suddenly no longer available -- as long as it was something that mattered to you.

 

They could easily clean/disinfect those plastic containers for the cotton balls between cruises, just as they clean the ice buckets (or at least I hope they do).

 

 

General rule: Don't cut corners on the features that I care about.

Cut out the things other people care about that I consider wasteful and don't want or need or enjoy. :D

 

 

Be it towel animals or pillow chocolates or cotton balls or water pitchers or canapes or fruit in the cabin, or which type of music or entertainment should stay or go, the arguments will continue.

 

 

If only they would inform us in advance of what they are eliminating, that would be helpful so we could know what additional things we will need to pack.

 

But finding out such things is one of the reasons to read Cruise Critic. ;)

 

I have often thought it would be helpful if they would provide an online checklist for each cabin that you could fill out in advance to let them know which items/features you do or don't want.

 

Give the towel animals to those who want them and don't waste time on them for those who could not care less about towel animals.

One of us wants a bathrobe, and the other never uses one, but we always get two.

 

Another feature that comes to mind is the minibar, that many of us want emptied out. So they go and stock it at the beginning of every cruise, then need to empty it, then need to re-stock it again.

What a waste of time and effort.

 

I guess I just don't see the issue with cotton balls and q-tips, they are still there, just in a different fashion (vanity packs) according to the OP. If someone doesn't want to pack some, if they use a lot, all they would have to do is ask for another vanity pack or two, which I believe the OP said all you had to do is ask to have them replaced twice a day. It is not like they got rid of them all together!

 

I like everything in the cabin when I board and then if there is something I want different; such as, extra fruit, the fridge emptied, no canapés, etc., I can just ask. If they had a checklist and if one thing is not correct, I can just imagine the complaints (they gave us this checklist to fill out, so our cabin would be perfect and they couldn't even get it right). If the cabins are well stocked upon arrival, one certainly can ask for any changes they require.

Edited August 17, 2014 by NLH Arizona

[cle-guy]

 

If I may digress' date=' following the Baltics we stayed at the W in London. I know it is a higher level than Celebrity, but I was wowed by the service and attitude of every staff member there. I have been to many deluxe hotels but have never had such service and hospitality anywhere.[/quote']

 

I stayed there for 3 nights after my TA this year. On arrival, they upgraded me to a corner WOW suite. I facebooked and tagged them in my post "Nice to be back on dry land. and SWEET! The W London upgraded me to a Suite!"

 

6 hours later, they slipped a card under my door welcoming back to dry land and to enjoy my stay with 2 drinks coupons. Clearly they monitor their Facebook page very carefully, otherwise how else would that have the "dry land" comment!

 

That was WOW indeed.

[cle-guy]

\ But having worked in the hospitality industry I can say with confidence that X would be failing in their duty of care if the items in the bathroom/stateroom were simply dusted between guests as opposed to 'cleaned'. Even given my compromised immunity, I am confident in touching any and everything in my stateroom/bathroom, and have no concerns re contracting Noro via these items. I have more concerns over the handrails throughout the ship, even though I see people cleaning them throughout the day!

 

Do you actually think they wipe down every wall, the entire TV, the bed frame, the lampshades, the safe inside and out, the rails on the desk chair, the insides of the the drawers...Seriously? I can't think of ANY hotel that does that. I can think of some that have such activities as special projects perhaps quarterly or semi-annually.

 

What kind of cleaning do you think happens to the fabric sofa, curtains and carpets between stays?

 

But anyone who thinks a room is fully sanitized between each stay is sadly mistaken.

 

The unopened bottles of lotion and soap are probably not even swapped out - although the open ones are definitely discarded. I doubt they swap out or even clean the binoculars or umbrella handles in the concierge cabins.

 

Hotels don't even change out the unused towels between guests, and its only been a recent thing where bedspreads were cleaned more often than quarterly since they've mostly gone to duvet covers. Blankets still don't get cleaned daily or between guests, instead they "double sheet" them as a sandwich between sheets in nice hotels, not sure about X.

 

The handrails in the hallways are going to be far cleaner than the seat of the desk chair in the cabin or the sofa in the cabin, that much I'm SURE of.

[The_Big_M]

NOT a "germaphobe" here at all....but AGAIN there is NO WAY that buying prepackaged vanity kits is cheaper than buying cotton balls and Q Tips in bulk....so WHAT other reason would there be....

 

Not that it's what the OP was raising, but...

 

If you want to analyse the cause, it could well be because of a change of supplier. Remember the rest of the bathroom toiletries recently changed as the spa provider changed. Even if they're not from the same supplier, sometimes suppliers go out of business, or just get dropped, or just no longer produce/sell a specific product for their own different reasons.

 

So there's lots of reasons it could be, if you want to go down that path.

[Gracie115]

Do you actually think they wipe down every wall, the entire TV, the bed frame, the lampshades, the safe inside and out, the rails on the desk chair, the insides of the the drawers...Seriously? I can't think of ANY hotel that does that. I can think of some that have such activities as special projects perhaps quarterly or semi-annually.

 

What kind of cleaning do you think happens to the fabric sofa, curtains and carpets between stays?

 

But anyone who thinks a room is fully sanitized between each stay is sadly mistaken.

 

The unopened bottles of lotion and soap are probably not even swapped out - although the open ones are definitely discarded. I doubt they swap out or even clean the binoculars or umbrella handles in the concierge cabins.

 

Hotels don't even change out the unused towels between guests, and its only been a recent thing where bedspreads were cleaned more often than quarterly since they've mostly gone to duvet covers. Blankets still don't get cleaned daily or between guests, instead they "double sheet" them as a sandwich between sheets in nice hotels, not sure about X.

 

The handrails in the hallways are going to be far cleaner than the seat of the desk chair in the cabin or the sofa in the cabin, that much I'm SURE of.

 

Absolutely correct....hence my claim that the QTip/cotton ball container is, at best, refilled, if necessary and dusted...nothing more. The vanity pack is a cleaner/safer alternative, albeit not as "pretty" alternative.

Edited August 17, 2014 by Gracie115

[BosoxI]

Next we need a detailed discussion on that button on the wall in the bathroom.

[need2bespoiled]

On our long cruises we've used quite a few cotton balls. Once we had to ask for it to be refilled. It was running low again near the end of the cruise, but it was refilled during turndown the night before disembarkation probably so they would not have to do it the next morning. They're definitely not emptying and cleaning the containers. In fact, many of the amenities including glassware, silverware, napkins, personalized stationary, etc were found in our cabin for the next cruiser before we left. We found it all as we searched to make sure we didn't forget anything that we stuck away after a month in there cabin.

 

That means that the silverware and glassware we used were also in the cabin on the last day of the previous cruisers. Is that unsanitary? The same is true of the coffee maker in a hotel room, or glassware in a restaurant, it sits somewhere for a day with access by other people.

 

Would we be said to see cotton balls go? We'd notice, but I don't think it would impact my cruise experience or raise to the level of comment in a review I posted.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Ma Bell]

It's seems that some people should stay in a sterile environment and never come out. There are germs everywhere folks. Fortunately we have immune systems to take care of most of the critters and just a little common sense takes care of the rest.:eek:

[Adidas4fun]

It's seems that some people should stay in a sterile environment and never come out. There are germs everywhere folks. Fortunately we have immune systems to take care of most of the critters and just a little common sense takes care of the rest.:eek:

 

Yeh, being on board a ship where every second person is vomiting from noro is just one of those "holiday adventures" you look forward to sharing with your friends in technicolor detail on facebook :)

Edited August 18, 2014 by Adidas4fun

[PinotBlanc]

It is a matter of expectation.

 

If you always bring along your own hair dryer, you might not notice or care if they suddenly stopped providing a hair dryer, but someone who always uses the ship's hair dryer would care.

 

The same would be true for the bathrobes, or shower caps, or body lotion, or just about anything else they always provided previously if it were suddenly no longer available -- as long as it was something that mattered to you.

 

They could easily clean/disinfect those plastic containers for the cotton balls between cruises, just as they clean the ice buckets (or at least I hope they do).

 

General rule: Don't cut corners on the features that I care about.

Cut out the things other people care about that I consider wasteful and don't want or need or enjoy. :D

 

 

Be it towel animals or pillow chocolates or cotton balls or water pitchers or canapes or fruit in the cabin, or which type of music or entertainment should stay or go, the arguments will continue.

 

 

If only they would inform us in advance of what they are eliminating, that would be helpful so we could know what additional things we will need to pack.

 

But finding out such things is one of the reasons to read Cruise Critic. ;)

 

I have often thought it would be helpful if they would provide an online checklist for each cabin that you could fill out in advance to let them know which items/features you do or don't want.

 

Give the towel animals to those who want them and don't waste time on them for those who could not care less about towel animals.

One of us wants a bathrobe, and the other never uses one, but we always get two.

 

Another feature that comes to mind is the minibar, that many of us want emptied out. So they go and stock it at the beginning of every cruise, then need to empty it, then need to re-stock it again.

What a waste of time and effort.

 

 

Varoo has excellent ideas. A "Needs Menu" similar to the "Breakfast Menu" could be in the cabin the first day. Hang it on the door for the Cabin Steward and get items we check on the menu.

 

Sounds easy to me.

 

We don't care about canapés, flowers, towel animals, robes, or chocolates.

I put the books, q-tips/cotton ball container, and throw pillows away to use the space.

 

Room in the mini-bar for a few things and an ice bucket are nice for convenience.

 

A "Do Not Disturb" sign is essential.

 

1) We plan to use it more due to "Save the Waves".

We can request more towels as needed.

 

2) We can take care of our bed and cabin steward entry two times a day.

We'll request service and clean bedding as we need it.

 

Same tips to Cabin Stewards but with less to do in our cabin they can pamper other

cruisers a little more..

 

Penny

Edited August 18, 2014 by PinotBlanc

[cle-guy]

Varoo has excellent ideas. A "Needs Menu" similar to the "Breakfast Menu" could be in the cabin the first day. Hang it on the door for the Cabin Steward and get items checked on the menu.

 

Sounds easy to me.

 

Even simpler, just speak with the cabin steward if somethings not in the cabin you desire.

 

Actually talking to your cabins steward...what a novel idea... :D

 

No need for more paper clogging the cabin and wasted trees.

[CruisingChick]

It seems that every cruise we take' date=' something else is missing.

 

We just returned from the Eclipse and there is no longer a supply of cotton balls and qtips. Now they give you a Vanity pack and they don't replace it twice a day unless you ask.

 

[/quote']

 

Ours were missing on our May 2014 Summit cruise to Bermuda. Those cotton balls can be expensive and I agree probably not sanitary.

 

I did not ask for the vanity pack to be replaced so it never was. After I used the one we got upon embarkation I never saw another one appear in our bathroom. You would think if you use it they would automatically replace it. I guess I'll have to ask, just like now you have to ask for ice.

[Gracie115]

Ours were missing on our May 2014 Summit cruise to Bermuda. Those cotton balls can be expensive and I agree probably not sanitary.

 

I did not ask for the vanity pack to be replaced so it never was. After I used the one we got upon embarkation I never saw another one appear in our bathroom. You would think if you use it they would automatically replace it. I guess I'll have to ask, just like now you have to ask for ice.

 

You DO have to ask for ice, but we've only had to do so once, at the beginning of each cruise and it's always freshened twice a day from that point on....seems simple enough to me.

 

I agree with Curt(cle-guy) talk to the steward, tell them what you need, we always do that the first day....and it's always worked out fine....

[PinotBlanc]

Even simpler, just speak with the cabin steward if somethings not in the cabin you desire.

 

Actually talking to your cabins steward...what a novel idea... :D

 

No need for more paper clogging the cabin and wasted trees.

 

 

 

We have never cruised that we didn't meet the cabin steward on the first visit to our cabin. We've been lucky.

 

However, it's easy to miss some essentials without doing a quick inventory. The first visit to our cabin we tell the steward a few things. It's after we settle in that we see a need for a few more items. An extra roll of TP or box of tissue is our most often request.

 

Yes, your suggestion is a good one. We know our steward and leave notes for him when the room is serviced.

 

Penny

[TomTN]

you do have to ask for ice, but we've only had to do so once, at the beginning of each cruise and it's always freshened twice a day from that point on....seems simple enough to me.

yep

i agree with curt(cle-guy) talk to the steward, tell them what you need, we always do that the first day....and it's always worked out fine....

yep

we have never cruised that we didn't meet the cabin steward on the first visit to our cabin. We've been lucky.

 

However, it's easy to miss some essentials without doing a quick inventory. The first visit to our cabin we tell the steward a few things. It's after we settle in that we see a need for a few more items. An extra roll of tp or box of tissue is our most often request.

 

Yes, your suggestion is a good one. we know our steward and leave notes for him when the room is serviced.

exactly, those guys and gals have a lot to do with an enjoyable cruise.

 

penny

Edited August 18, 2014 by TomBeckCruise

[miched]

u

Did you find the oars under your bed ??? :) :) :)

 

 

Steve

 

Did they eliminate them also?

 

We would use them to hit the cotton balls off of the balcony. But we would only do that when in port and try to get them to land on the ship across from us. :D

 

 

Happy cruisng 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited August 18, 2014 by miched

[bvocruise]

You DO have to ask for ice, but we've only had to do so once, at the beginning of each cruise and it's always freshened twice a day from that point on....seems simple enough to me.

 

I agree with Curt(cle-guy) talk to the steward, tell them what you need, we always do that the first day....and it's always worked out fine....

 

Wow, I'm glad someone told me you have to ask for ice. This will be my first time on X and it was always in my cabin automatically on other lines. No big deal, but nice to know in advance. Can you even get ice on your own? I tried to on other lines and was not able to.

[varoo]

...... Can you even get ice on your own? I tried to on other lines and was not able to.

You can get ice on your own from a machine up at the buffet, but otherwise they do not have self-service ice machines accessible to passengers the way they do for customers at most hotels.

 

[bvocruise]

You can get ice on your own from a machine up at the buffet, but otherwise they do not have self-service ice machines accessible to passengers the way they do for customers at most hotels.

 

 

Thank you for the information.