Posting "Celebrity Secrets" Backlash

[Ma Bell]

It sounds like we're saying the same thing. We've been on 40+ cruises and never have had a cruise ruined by what someone else does. I have, however seen the loud, obnoxious ones who have to make sure they are noticed. I just head the other way.;) Of course I pay for my vacation. What I mean is that there are those who use the fact that they paid for their vacation as an excuse to do whatever they want, whenever they want without any consideration for anyone else.

 

I don't know what you mean by a cruiseline's representative doling out negative attention. Negative attention is just others noticing the boors when they act up.

[MortgageChick]

Hi Ma Bell- Sharon here from the Summit Vancouver to LA In September hope all is well

 

As for the price of shrimp. I can purchase 40 large frozen cooked shrimp in a bag for about $7 (Canadian $) right now. ( and they are delicious, bigger and tastier than what I have eaten on Celebrity) If you give everyone 4 the cost is less than $1 a serving and I am only buying one bag, Celebrity buys hundreds/ thousands of pounds of shrimp at a time, there cost per serving must be much less.

 

I have to admit that I love shrimp and I usually order shrimp cocktail every second night, BUT only one order, never two.

 

Next up Galaxy in 10 days!!!!!!

[jsmeeker]

And should this same "logic" apply to land-based restaurants? That what's printed on the menu is irrelevant and people should order whatever they want?

 

 

People order stuff not on the menu all the time. I've done it myself. A GOOD place with good service will be more than happy to honor the request if able.

 

I have a perfect example from my own experience. The hotel I stay at in L.A. had a really nice item on their bar menu. It was a lobster roll. It was really, really good. One day, I noticed it was no longer on the menu. I asked about it. They told me it had been dropped from the bar menu, but that it was still on the dining room lunch menu, and that kitchen would be more than happy to make it. So, I ordered it. I'm I being a jerk? No. Do I incovenience others? of course not. I was told they would do it. And they were more than happy to do so. If I was at the bar and wanted something off the dining room menu, they are more than happy to bring it. If I wanted something off the room service menu, they would do it. I was in my room and wanted something not on the room service menu, but it was on the dining room or bar menu, they would be more than happy to bring it.

 

I'm not demanding they give me a bunch of free stuff. I'm not demanding that they do something for me and not for you. It doesn't impact another guest.

 

I don't see why it can't be the same on a cruise ship. Afterall, Celebrity prides itself on service as being a cut above the other mass market lines. They say "Celebrity's famous personal service with a taste of luxury will make you feel like the only guest on board. " on their web site right here..

 

http://www.celebrity.com/whyceleb/heroSingleTxtSub.do;jsessionid=00007Rky0SIeg6fDdiYTiYckiK_:1051tg3ld?pagename=outstanding_service

 

Doing something like bringing you a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich with the crusts cut off to your room when it's NOT on the room service menu is the mark of GOOD service. I don't know if I'd want to cruise on a line that would not be willing to do something so simple. If they won't do that, what else won't they do?

[Ma Bell]

Hi Sharon, nice to hear from you. Things are great here!:)

[jukeboxy]

I may be the poster child for all the things discussed in this thread. I am a picky eater raised on meat and taters in the midwest. I also have diet restrictions due to health that I try to ignore on a cruise much to my wifes displeasure.

It becomes a table joke at the number of shrimp cocktails I order to maintain the flow of courses at the meal. I often have the shrimp cocktails for appetizer and soup courses. I often eat a steak and baked tater if I want to keep things simple. I admit to trying more new things on a cruise ship at dinner because I know I won't starve if I don't like it. So cruising has broadend my eating habits.

Now to cover the desire of a waiter to serve you the best the ship can offer.

I am diabetic and will very rarely order deserts. One night our waiter was very insistant and to satisfty him I said, "Ok, when you have strawberry shortcake I will have desert." He walked away and I thought the issue over. Fifteen minutes later the MD come to the table and said that the waiter had said I wanted Strawberry short cake. He said they did not have any available that night but he was sure he could get the chief to make some for the following night. We all got a good laugh at the table and reassured the MD that I was happy and special service was not needed in this case.

Bless the Mercury and the dinning room staff. You see you don't need to demand anything just the mention of an unfilled desire in front of waiter will spur them into action to please you.

I guess my point in telling this is to point out that there is a difference between Demanding service and service being offered to please a customer.

It is things like these that bring me back to Celebrity and the fantastic crews they maintain.

[tuggers]

Lots of times I skip courses and have never just ordered food to

 

maintain the flow of courses at the meal

Why would you need to do that? The course comes, everyone waits until the others are served, you merely say, 'I'm not having soup, etc' and everyone eats.

To order food just to have a course in front of you is, IMO wasteful!

[WeBeCruisin']

Believe me' date=' there is no shortage of opininated people sitting at their computers judging others... It made me disappointed in the one woman in the group who'd been my friend for a few years prior to this sailing. So much so, that I told her how rude she was and our friendship was sacrificed as a result.

.[/quote']

 

For someone who hates judgmental people, attacking your friend for what you "judged" to be her rudeness and thereby destroying a friendship sounds pretty judgmental to me. :D

[WeBeCruisin']

One day, I noticed it was no longer on the menu. I asked about it. They told me it had been dropped from the bar menu, but that it was still on the dining room lunch menu

 

Which makes it a "menu" item. That indicates that they have the ingredients on hand, but they still wouldn't have the mise en place set up for it and the lobster would still need to be cooked, the ingredients prepared and extra time and effort put into pleasing you, at the expense of other diners receiving their food as soon as they normally would.

 

It's amusing to see how desperately the "me, me, me" people scramble and scurry trying to defend their selfish and inconsiderate actions. :rolleyes:

[WeBeCruisin']

I am diabetic and will very rarely order deserts.

 

I rarely order deserts, either. They're always just way too dry.:)

[C 2 C]

Perhaps the OP's waiter was just implying... to quote Alfred E. Newman:

 

"Good hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even when you wish they were.";)

[TechKnowBabble]

I have a perfect example from my own experience. The hotel I stay at in L.A. had a really nice item on their bar menu. It was a lobster roll. It was really, really good. One day, I noticed it was no longer on the menu. I asked about it. They told me it had been dropped from the bar menu, but that it was still on the dining room lunch menu, and that kitchen would be more than happy to make it. So, I ordered it. I'm I being a jerk? No. Do I incovenience others? of course not. I was told they would do it. And they were more than happy to do so. If I was at the bar and wanted something off the dining room menu, they are more than happy to bring it. If I wanted something off the room service menu, they would do it. I was in my room and wanted something not on the room service menu, but it was on the dining room or bar menu, they would be more than happy to bring it.

 

I'm not demanding they give me a bunch of free stuff. I'm not demanding that they do something for me and not for you. It doesn't impact another guest.

 

I don't see why it can't be the same on a cruise ship.

 

That is JUST the point...it DOES impact other guests. There is only a limited amount of space for food on the cruise...if they have a certain amount of <insert item here> and someone orders it EVERYDAY when it's not on the menu and others are ordering DOUBLES when it comes time for that item to come up in the menu they may be OUT OF IT because people have ordered it much more than was anticipated. On a cruise ship they can't just 'run off' to the market to replentish their supply. If you want all things to be EQUAL to an onland restaurant, then why don't you ask for a FREE second entree, appetizer or dessert at your local restaurant and see what happens.

[jsmeeker]

It's amusing to see how desperately the "me' date=' me, me" people scramble and scurry trying to defend their selfish and inconsiderate actions. :rolleyes:[/quote']

 

Gimme a break. It's selfish of me to order something that normally isn't on the bar menu?

[cruisin'cats]

WeBC--A friend who judges others rudely and publicly without concern for others' feelings is someone who may be judging you in the same manner. Rudeness without remorse--"it's all in fun because we're on vacation so others be damned if they find me rude"--is not a quality I prefer to have friends with compatable ethics. I'm sure she's out there waiting for your friendship if you'd prefer that kind of friend...but I hope you're not overweight, have a high enough income level, and are attractive enough for her tastes.

 

I don't get it about some of the other posters here--you're so worried about the space in the kitchens on cruise ships and how someone else asking for something will impact others' needs. Don't you understand that if they kitchen doesn't have XYZ they don't serve it--and if they do, the management makes the decision to act on the request--and that such ships have extensive staff to handle requests, orders, special needs, etc. so that the management knows what their staff can and cannot do??? Mise en place prep notwithstanding, if a request can be accomodated, the staff will do it in as timely a manner as possible WITHOUT impacting others. If that time factor is too long for the passenger's tastes, they'll have the option of not making future requests or talking to the management and getting an official explanation. This is what the staff is TRAINED to handle. If you are getting excuses that someone else's request is impacting your meal, other than, say they've run out of something you'd like (and that's not usually the fault of a passenger or three but of the kitchen management's forecasting for ordering) then I say you are getting a poor excuse from a less than stellar server who hasn't figured out which side of his bread will best get buttered with better efforts whenever possible. I don't tip on sympathy unless it's genuinely earned.

All this concern about running out or being impacted by other's requests seems a bit distressing for someone going on VACATION. The stress isn't supposed to be yours, it's the job of the cruise line to make sure you don't have any unnecessary stress--at meal time as well as the rest of the time while onboard. RELAX and ENJOY!!!

Besides, as in previous postings, if an order of steak, let's say, is tough or a dish is unpopular, there may be a higher number of people ordering just what you wanted and can't have because it wasn't prepared for that evening or can't be made quickly enough. That's not because someone was a 'piggie' and ordered too much and impacted you, that's just something the kitchen has to deal with and do what they can to make you HAPPY.

 

That's what this is all about--MAKE THE PASSENGERS HAPPY AND THEY'LL PAY TO RETURN--AND BRING THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY EITHER IN PERSON OR THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH. That's the bottom line...how much more can one debate this? Cruise lines make money when passengers are happy, they lose money when passengers don't return. If it makes a passenger happy ordering something off the menu or special request, the successful business will do what they can to make sure that passenger gets what they want. It's part of the business model. Happy cruisers+return business=Increased revenues for Cruise company.

 

And TUGGERS--who are you to tell someone who has an illness whether or not they should order food? Did he say he didn't eat it??? We travel with a diabetic friend in our group and he does the same thing--and he eats the food he's ordered, even if it's a second salad or a shrimp cocktail, along with the rest of us so that we are all enjoying the experience together. Eating is a good shared experience and it does feel awkward for someone to feel limitations that alienate them from the group's activities--as well as possibly making the others feel like they should sacrifice to be more inclusive. I think Jukeboxy's idea is a good one for all involved. I assure you he won't waste YOUR shrimp cocktail and I don't even know the man!!! He sounds sensible to me.

[tuggers]

I don't believe there was any reason given for ordering except 'to maintain the flow of courses'. I fail to see why you can not enjoy the table, the conversation and your fellow cruisers without a plate of food in front of you. You say you need to 'enjoy the experience together'. Do you also need to order the same things? Then you could enjoy things together.

 

Sorry, it's JMO, but I see no problem with sitting at the table and conversing while abstaining from a course. Just because they are serving it, doesn't mean you are required to eat EVERYTHING!:D

[bananavan]

WOW

What a lot of hostility here. Getting ugly.

There seem to be an inordinate number of cruisers whose needs were not adequately met as children.

I want it so I should have it. I should not have to stress over whether the cruise line has brought on enough provisions to ensure that I can have whatever I want, when I want it because THIS IS MY VACATION!!!!!!!!

The cruise line should give me what I want or I will go public and denounce them for not helping me into a size 52 short.

Get a grip folks.

Try going into your OWN kitchen and DEMANDING that you be served shrimp cocktails for every course. Probably not gonna be happening any time soon.

[TechKnowBabble]

WOW

What a lot of hostility here. Getting ugly.

There seem to be an inordinate number of cruisers whose needs were not adequately met as children.

I want it so I should have it. I should not have to stress over whether the cruise line has brought on enough provisions to ensure that I can have whatever I want, when I want it because THIS IS MY VACATION!!!!!!!!

The cruise line should give me what I want or I will go public and denounce them for not helping me into a size 52 short.

Get a grip folks.

Try going into your OWN kitchen and DEMANDING that you be served shrimp cocktails for every course. Probably not gonna be happening any time soon.

 

Well said. I'm waiting to see someone flailing around on the floor like a 2 year old having a temper tantrum because they couldn't have what they wanted.

[Schplinky]

WOW

What a lot of hostility here. Getting ugly.

There seem to be an inordinate number of cruisers whose needs were not adequately met as children.

I want it so I should have it. I should not have to stress over whether the cruise line has brought on enough provisions to ensure that I can have whatever I want, when I want it because THIS IS MY VACATION!!!!!!!!

The cruise line should give me what I want or I will go public and denounce them for not helping me into a size 52 short.

Get a grip folks.

Try going into your OWN kitchen and DEMANDING that you be served shrimp cocktails for every course. Probably not gonna be happening any time soon.

 

Good first line, and then you go and add to it.

 

The difference between my kitchen and a cruise line's is that they use statistical modelling to fill their freezers and pantries and have a lot more experience in predicting the whims of passengers than I ever might. They have years of experience that allows them to know what they need for all the menu items and they know their history of special requests, and what it takes to fill them. Given that most ships can travel for two or three weeks, most week-long cruisers shouldn't be overly obsessed that others' requests will mean that they don't get something later in the week.

[WeBeCruisin']

WeBC--A friend who judges others rudely and publicly without concern for others' feelings is someone who may be judging you in the same manner. Rudeness without remorse--"it's all in fun because we're on vacation so others be damned if they find me rude"--is not a quality I prefer to have friends with compatable ethics. I'm sure she's out there waiting for your friendship if you'd prefer that kind of friend...but I hope you're not overweight' date=' have a high enough income level, and are attractive enough for her tastes.

[/quote']

 

I just have to hope that somewhere in your mind that at least made sense to you. :rolleyes:

[WeBeCruisin']

Gimme a break. It's selfish of me to order something that normally isn't on the bar menu?

 

If it involves extra preparation time, cooking time, and inconveniences other diners, then the answer is obviously "yes".:)

[teedee]

I will sometimes skip a course during dinner. Either I don't care for any of the selections offered, I'm not that hungry, the choices don't fit with my diabetic diet or any number of reasons. I never felt like I had to order something to enjoy the experience of dinner with my dining companions. I can still sit and have conversation with my table mates without stuffing food in my mouth. I don't feel uncomfortable or left out or awkward in any way. If I had to be eating at the same time the others were eating then we'd all have to finish at the same time to make everyone happy. Doesn't make much sense to me.

Terri

[cruisin'cats]

I agree that there is too much hostility on this thread. I think that people have to sit back and look at themselves instead of others and find a place where they are comfortable on vacation. If we can accomplish this we can spare others and ourselves a lot of stress, now and while we're away from home.

I also think that there's not much more to debate here without getting too personal. The cruise ships are outfitted to meet the needs of thousands of guests at one time. We needn't worry about that. When people pay for pleasure and find satisfaction with the provider (and I'm keeping this clean here--no winking!) then the business transaction is successful. If this thread isn't about traveling and enjoyment, then it's about something beyond this board's ability to share or settle.

I say that we should let the management take care of their business and we'll MIND OUR OWN and not others' and go into this holiday season with good tidings and best wishes for a happy new year full of good travel and great experiences.

[bob278]

I, on the other hand, do my best to ensure the staff on board are given every opportunity to "pamper" me. I always ask for at least one thing that is not on the menu every meal. And in the buffet, I go through all the lines to see what isn't there so I can politely ask for it and let them feel good about giving me good service. After all, isn't the only reason they have for existing to give outstanding service? I am such a good person to give them so many chances to feel good.

 

But, I also count up every "No" I get and go to guest relations at the end of the cruise and "Politely demand" compensation based on just how badly my vacation was ruined by the callous disregard for my needs.

 

 

 

 

OK. Now if it wasn't obvious, this post was intended to bring just a bit of humor to a thread that is getting a little overheated. We all have our opinions and I'll wager that not more than one or two have actually been changed in the history of Cruise Critic and I doubt if any will be changed here.

[Schplinky]

OK. Now if it wasn't obvious, this post was intended to bring just a bit of humor to a thread that is getting a little overheated. We all have our opinions and I'll wager that not more than one or two have actually been changed in the history of Cruise Critic and I doubt if any will be changed here.

 

Bob,

 

That made me smile. You don't read too often on these boards "Oh, I never saw it that way; you might be right."

[jukeboxy]

I will sometimes skip a course during dinner. Either I don't care for any of the selections offered, I'm not that hungry, the choices don't fit with my diabetic diet or any number of reasons. I never felt like I had to order something to enjoy the experience of dinner with my dining companions. I can still sit and have conversation with my table mates without stuffing food in my mouth. I don't feel uncomfortable or left out or awkward in any way. If I had to be eating at the same time the others were eating then we'd all have to finish at the same time to make everyone happy. Doesn't make much sense to me.

 

Terri

You see Terri I have to order something to shove in my mouth. I talk so much that my table partners get a small rest on their inner ear channel and thus I am saving them from motion sickness.

Yes, I do feel akward to be sitting while others are eating and that is my problem that I solve by ordering something to eat. I guess you have to ask a past tablemate if they prefer me eating and slurping my soup or talking. I also throw the shrimp tails over my shoulder and hope I don't hit anyone. I think maybe I have given too much information at this time.

Judge me as you will and your judgement will reflect on your nature.

[dmarch@islc.net]

Hi Ma Bell- Sharon here from the Summit Vancouver to LA In September hope all is well

 

As for the price of shrimp. I can purchase 40 large frozen cooked shrimp in a bag for about $7 (Canadian $) right now. ( and they are delicious, bigger and tastier than what I have eaten on Celebrity) If you give everyone 4 the cost is less than $1 a serving and I am only buying one bag, Celebrity buys hundreds/ thousands of pounds of shrimp at a time, there cost per serving must be much less.

 

I have to admit that I love shrimp and I usually order shrimp cocktail every second night, BUT only one order, never two.

 

Next up Galaxy in 10 days!!!!!!

 

Shrimpers here in SC are getting less than $2.00 US per pound at the dock. I'm sure X buys their shrimp in Honduras or similar poor country. My guess is they pay way less than a dollar a pound. How many shrimp in shrimp cocktail? Six. How many shrimp in a pound? 30 to 45 depending on size. It's crazy to think that a few hundred extra shrimp cocktail orders per cruise (if there is that many) could affect the line. SORRY!:p