Celebrity website = disaster = bad p.r.

[JERSEYGIRL1983]

I have been trying to log in to my celebrity profile/reservations/anything having to do with my reservations for the last 3 days and have had no success.

 

I know, I know, Celebrity's website SUCKS but for 3 days not being able to access my reservation??? Seriously Celebrity, get a grip and a new website developer.

 

For those who may think its a browser/computer issue: I have tried it on the following: Safari, Internet Explorer, FireFox and Chrome.

 

In addition, I have tried it on my home computer, work computer, phone and tablet.

 

Of course, you CAN freely roam Celebrity's website and look for NEW cruises but you cannot see your own.

 

I have never, ever had an issue in the past with Holland, Carnival or NCL. How about spending a little bit of money in your IT department Celebrity!

 

To my fellow cruisecritics....thank you for allowing me to vent.

[cruza]

I have been trying to log in to my celebrity profile/reservations/anything having to do with my reservations for the last 3 days and have had no success.

 

I know, I know, Celebrity's website SUCKS but for 3 days not being able to access my reservation??? Seriously Celebrity, get a grip and a new website developer.

 

For those who may think its a browser/computer issue: I have tried it on the following: Safari, Internet Explorer, FireFox and Chrome.

 

In addition, I have tried it on my home computer, work computer, phone and tablet.

 

Of course, you CAN freely roam Celebrity's website and look for NEW cruises but you cannot see your own.

 

I have never, ever had an issue in the past with Holland, Carnival or NCL. How about spending a little bit of money in your IT department Celebrity!

 

To my fellow cruisecritics....thank you for allowing me to vent.

 

I suggest to use different web browser - Chrome works ok for me...

[JERSEYGIRL1983]

I suggest to use different web browser - Chrome works ok for me...

 

Please re-read my post

[flames9]

Been less than stellar for years now....most business would fix it ASAP..but not Celebrity..they have said a few times, changes would be made.......Modern luxury at its finest! :)

[SetU2]

I was able to login yesterday and just tested again today with no issue. Since you said you've tried in different locations and with different browsers, I'd suggest contacting Celebrity because it might be your login profile that is causing problems. Any particular error messages?

[CathyCruises]

I can get in to my cruises, but I just tried to print my Xpress Pass. It shows up on the screen fine, but when I click the 'send to printer' button, it prints the page that shows your on-line progress--like "Personal and Travel Info Complete". Cannot get it to print what is actually on the screen.

 

Then I tried to print the few relevant pages from the cruise documents. NOW it says it can't find the printer, which it just printed (the wrong document) on two minutes beforehand. . .

 

REALLY makes me want to scream.

[XtaSea]

I've had the same problems for awhile now. However, I'm able to access my reservation for a Feb. 2016 cruise by going to "online checkin" in the upper right hand corner of the X site's homepage. If you've tried to use the regular "sign in" function (I think your name will show in the "welcome" box), you may have to delete brower data in order for the "online check in" option to show. Once it does and you click it, you'll have to fill in several fields (reservation #, name, ship and sail date), but then it takes you to the online check in page. In the upper left hand corner of that page, you can access "My Reservation" and work from there. At least it works for me on both Chrome and Firefox. Cumbersome, but a work around for the issue. Hope that helps.

[jelayne]

I haven't had any problem accessing my reservations. Have done it a couple of times this week, booking dinner & excursion, ordering luggage tags, etc.

 

I did encounter the same problem CathyCruises did trying to print the Xpass. I also had the same printing problem with another web site. Attributed to having installed windows 10. My DH still on Wondows 8 had no problem printing the Xpass.

[cle-guy]

I can get in to my cruises, but I just tried to print my Xpress Pass. It shows up on the screen fine, but when I click the 'send to printer' button, it prints the page that shows your on-line progress--like "Personal and Travel Info Complete". Cannot get it to print what is actually on the screen.

 

 

This is generally due to a Pop-Up blocker blocking the express pass preview screen.

[varoo]

.....I did encounter the same problem CathyCruises did trying to print the Xpass. I also had the same printing problem with another web site. Attributed to having installed windows 10. My DH still on Wondows 8 had no problem printing the Xpass.

Thanks for posting this.

I have no problems accessing my account or reservations or printing using Windows 7,

(although I have encountered other problems with the Celebrity website).

Never upgraded to 8 because of all the problems reported with Windows 8, and I was very happy with Windows 7.

 

I was getting ready to upgrade to Windows 10, but now I think I will wait and stay with 7 for a while longer. ;)

 

Edited September 17, 2015 by varoo

[wwcruisers]

Hmm... Just went to the website to look at cruises, and couldn't get in, at all. Got a picture of a ship, and a message screen that read something like: Improving your website experience -- be back shortly. :confused:

[Big_G]

 

To my fellow cruisecritics....thank you for allowing me to vent.

 

Did you call them to make sure you still have a reservation?

[purpletequila]

Hmm... Just went to the website to look at cruises, and couldn't get in, at all. Got a picture of a ship, and a message screen that read something like: Improving your website experience -- be back shortly. :confused:

 

 

Me too. Maybe it was her vent! LOL Someone FINALLY got their attention!:eek:

[wieslaw]

Me too. Maybe it was her vent! LOL Someone FINALLY got their attention!:eek:

 

No, ...... people complained before ..... the same screen with the ship has been there before ..... same 'improving ....' message has been there before ....... and nothing changed.

Edited September 17, 2015 by wieslaw

[Lsimon]

Unfortunately Celebrity has had serious web problems for many years and there has been constant complaints on these boards about them. Sometimes the problems mysteriously effect some cruisers while others have no issue for reasons that defy explanation.

 

A couple of years ago Celebrity named a new VP for their web site development that did a long Q&A here on Cruise Critic, but unfortunately most of the answers were very stereotypical company line general statements and no real good ever came for many of the comments and suggestions.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=869

Edited September 17, 2015 by Lsimon

[CathyCruises]

This is generally due to a Pop-Up blocker blocking the express pass preview screen.

 

I have windows 10. . .

[cle-guy]

I have windows 10. . .

 

I'm a Mac/Safari/Chrome guy, so not sure what that means exactly....Does it not have pop-up blocking settings? Or are you saying people determined Windows 10 is the issue?

 

I've been doing some of the Advocate chats, and got tons of people with express pass printing issues. Majority solved by checking pop-up blockers. I wondered if maybe a Windows update installed and reset popups on a bunch of PC's or something, as it was about 2 days of constant such requests for help, and they have died off over time.

 

Also, it's important to have the current version of FLASH installed, as I think the express pass print window is run thru flash. I had to do this when I got my new laptop.

 

Another common issue was, the pop-up would open and hide itself behind other open windows on the desktop, so once people start minimizing programs, would find the open window Express Pass Window in the back. This happened to me a couple times in there past.

[aquafemme]

Considering how vital their website is to their sales and customer service, I find the Celebrity website to be poorly programmed and I’m quite surprised that it hasn’t been improved for business reasons. Are all the brand websites of this parent company buggy or is it mainly Celebrity?

 

While there may be compatibility issues with Windows 10 there are also website issues when using windows 8 or 7. There’s a problem with a multitude of browsers as well. However, I just try another time when it’s glitchy. I find that less tiresome then dealing with customer Service.

 

After I registered with Celebrity I receive a confirmation e-mail. When I went to view it a day or two later -- the website couldn't find my account and said to register. :confused: After several attempts to view my acct I gave in and tried re-registering and only to receive a message that my information was already in the system (thereby confirming that even though I couldn't access it I had an account). At that point I thought I should call Celebrity.

 

Silly me.

 

After holding for quite awhile I was connected to a rep who upon hearing what happened online said "I don't know your password." :eek: What?! Who said I didn't know my password? I informed her I knew my password and that wasn't the issue. Well after hearing how “she wasn't a tech”, and “probably it was my password”, and “probably the account didn't go through.” (Despite my receiving a confirmation email that it did), and that I should “try re-registering” (even though I told her I had already tried that and received a message that my info was already in the system) . I asked to speak to someone who might be better able to assist me with the problem. She replied, "I am helping you".

 

Fooled me.

 

Did she really think she was helping me by trying to put the onus of the website problem on me by assuming I didn't know my password? Or perhaps she felt she was helping by declaring she wasn't a tech? Maybe she was helping me by not listening to what had transpired and directing me to repeat the unsuccessful re-registering attempt or log in attempt. One thing was certain -- the slow exasperated whine in her voice "helped" me know how burdensome for her my calling with this problem was. I'm sure at this point many people would have given up and hung up. Unfortunately for her I am made of sterner stuff and so kept my cool and marched onward. "Not being able to access my account is problematic and I can't leave it as 'too bad for me'.” "I'm trying to help you" she whined once more.

 

Sure you are.

 

“Yes I know, it’s a mystery but perhaps a supervisor having more experience might be able to figure out the problem or would know who best to direct me to.” I suggested then quickly added. “This does need to be resolved. I’ll hold while you get the supervisor.” I held for a few moments and she put me on with a coworker (not a supervisor which leads me to believe she suspected her performance was less than stellar). Her co-worker was solution oriented and after going through all my information thought the hang-up might be due to hyphens in my name and my address. The second rep re-entered my information into my account and stayed on the line while I tried my account on the web—voila! Problem solved. :) I thanked the 2nd rep whom actually helped me. The whiney 1st rep then came back on the line and said “That was so hard. I’m really glad I was able to help to you.” :eek:

 

You’re kidding right?

 

I’ve called Celebrity twice since then -- one rep was helpful and the other was benign at best. Clearly it’s the luck of the draw when you call which is no way to run customer service. And the website having recurring issues creates a rather unsatisfactory lose-lose scenario for clients of the cruise line.

 

Don’t get me wrong it’s not totally bad but it could be whole lot better.

Edited September 18, 2015 by aquafemme

[cle-guy]

]Considering how vital their website is to their sales [/b]and customer service' date=' I find the Celebrity website to be poorly programmed and[b'] I’m quite surprised that it hasn’t been improved for business reasons.[/b] Are all the brand websites of this parent company buggy or is it mainly Celebrity?

 

I'm actually not surprised they aren't investing heavily on the website. Why? Because just over 70% of cruisers book with a travel agent and not by phone to X or via X's website.

 

As to the rest of your customer service issue, you have to realize that CS staff are at different levels and familiarity, some are more in tune than others, there is a lot of OTJT involved. Knowledge comes with experience and time.

 

And as I've been doing these CS chats recently, I've had 3 people with password issues, who swear they have it right....then they chat back and say OOPS, sorry I had CAPS lock on - all solved. So it's not out of the realm that a CS agent starts with the password issue just as a part of the troubleshooting routine.

 

Also CS staff don't have any knowledge about the website and when it is being maintained or down, so often the only info that an give is try later when it's less glitchy. Shocking, but it works many times.

 

I've also noticed that some things seem to take 20 minutes to 30 minutes to populate thru their various interconnected systems, so it's also not out of the realm pf possibility for a CS staff to want one to try later so this "polling" process makes its way thru the interconnected systems. Some things take overnight to resolve.

[purpletequila]

No, ...... people complained before ..... the same screen with the ship has been there before ..... same 'improving ....' message has been there before ....... and nothing changed.

 

Oh, I'm aware.

I started my own vent thread about it last week.

 

It was a joke. ;):D

 

And btw, I am still getting the ship as of 5 minutes ago.

[GottaKnowWhen]

I just logged into my acct via my iPad, could see my reservations, did not try to actually do anything...

[ehfl]

It's truly awful! We spent months not being able to get into our reservation, and figured it was just because we booked through a travel agent (which we rarely do) and that it was not yet final payment. Recently tried to get in, but still no access even though it's fully paid. Called Celebrity, and after 3 calls, and several different ways to get into our reservation, finally was able to get in. Still, if we do one wrong click, such as trying to get back to the main page so we can switch from viewing dining to excursions, we get a message that we need to wait 20 minutes. Soooo frustrating! RCL's website is bad, but this is much worse. I didn't think that was possible!

[Andy]

Now the website is completely down (as of 11:30 pm ET). Maybe some improvements coming ?

 

.... We can hope, right ? :)

[Andy]

I'm actually not surprised they aren't investing heavily on the website. Why? Because just over 70% of cruisers book with a travel agent and not by phone to X or via X's website.

 

 

Wow. Really ? I look at it completly opposite than you do. Tons of cruisers want to do research on their cruises - from beginning to end. Maybe Celebrity does not make much when folks do research, but the LAST thing you want, is for folks to get turned off by the website. It leaves a very bad impression, and may chase some prospective Celebrity guests to the competition. Those who've been sailing with Celebrity are used to it by now. We have no choice but to accept it, and hope for the best.

 

I also suspect that due to the website, Celebrity is losing countless $$$ on lost bookings, shore excursions, Specialty Dining, and countless other things they *could* be doing with their website, if it A) worked properly, and B) was easy to navigate.... neither of which properties exist right now.

 

There's an old saying in business, and it's worked very well for me. "You need to spend money to make money". I'm sorry to say it, but Celebrity has neglected their website for too many years. They've made changes to the IT leadership, and nothing seems to work. With that said, I'm hearing they have another new manager, so maybe things will improve. IMO, the problem is (and as I've said for years), is that they keep putting band-aids on a massive wound. It's not going to work. They need to build a new, state of the art website from the ground up. I think they simply do not want to make that sort of investment. Until they do, the same old, same old will continue.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Host Andy

[richsea]

Maybe 70% (don't know where that number came from) of people use a TA, but 100% have to use on line check in.