Just Returned From 1st Celebrity Cruise On Summit

[Griller]

Hi, please excuse what are probably dumb questions but we just had out first Celebrity cruise on Summit and are interested to know if what we experienced is "normal".

 

We had a somewhat mediocre cabin steward- he was very forgetful about things like the daily program, towels, bathmat, and most of all ice - when we asked him how many cabins he had to service it was 10. A mix of inside and balcony.

10 doesn't seem many compared to other lines we've been on. Is that a usual number for Celebrity?

 

There was no fridge we could use in our inside cabin. Is that usual?

 

On the penultimate evening of the cruise we came back to our cabin and found our onboard account statement face up on the bed, not in an envelope or anything, and an envelope with the cabin stewards name on it and an amount for extra tip. Is that usual?

 

Not sure I want the cabin steward reading my account....................... just seems wrong...not that there was anything unusual on there.

 

The last thing he said to us - rather sharply - was "you have to be out of the cabin by 8am OK"

 

Is it usual to be so brusque to passengers about vacating the cabin on Celebrity? English was his first language as he came from Jamaica,

 

We hadn't complained about him, or to him about his deficiencies, or been anything but decent tidy passengers who gave him very little to do in our cabin.

[Mynki]

We had a somewhat mediocre cabin steward- he was very forgetful about things like the daily program, towels, bathmat, and most of all ice - when we asked him how many cabins he had to service it was 10. A mix of inside and balcony.

10 doesn't seem many compared to other lines we've been on. Is that a usual number for Celebrity?

 

That does seem a normal number. Celebrity recently made changes to how they work. Initially the cabin staff worked in pairs, now they have a smaller number of cabins that they care for individually.

 

Forgetting towels and daily programs is inexcusable and simply poor service.

 

There was no fridge we could use in our inside cabin. Is that usual?

 

Yes. However you can ask your cabin steward to empty your mini bar and use that.

 

On the penultimate evening of the cruise we came back to our cabin and found our onboard account statement face up on the bed, not in an envelope or anything, and an envelope with the cabin stewards name on it and an amount for extra tip. Is that usual?

 

Your bill should have been in the envelope. He's clearly abusing the system. I'd have written on a piece of paper :-

 

Tip

 

Do your job better! Replace towels etc...

 

And then placed it in the envelope

 

Not sure I want the cabin steward reading my account....................... just seems wrong...not that there was anything unusual on there.

 

It is wrong. He'a acted unprofessionally there.

 

The last thing he said to us - rather sharply - was "you have to be out of the cabin by 8am OK"

 

Is it usual to be so brusque to passengers about vacating the cabin on Celebrity? English was his first language as he came from Jamaica,

 

We hadn't complained about him, or to him about his deficiencies, or been anything but decent tidy passengers who gave him very little to do in our cabin.

 

Again, inexcusable, just rude service.

 

In all honesty I think you should have provided feedback to guest relations as soon as you had concerns, otherwise there is nothing they can do. That said I also appreciate why you might not have wanted to complain. I would say that the service is not usual but then again you always get a few bad apples in large corporations. Sorry to hear that you didn't receive the service you expected.

[Keith1010]

So sorry you went through this.

 

Keith

[Griller]

Thanks for the reply, we thought it probably wasn't right, he seemed to be under the impression it was our first cruise, and so it was, on Celebrity.

 

And 100 plus on other cruise lines.

 

We quite liked Celebrity but soon came to realize that this is really a line where two passengers can have totally different cruise experiences depending on what grade of cabin they booked.

 

One will be permitted to dine anywhere, have nice coffee after dinner and unlimited drinks at no further charge and go to any lounge or club at any time of day.

 

And then there is us, limited to the basic dining room, appalled at the cost of Cappucino after dinner, and totally scared of running up a huge drinks bill , ( our onboard spend came to $30 in 14 days) and not allowed in so many places on the ship. Got thrown out of Revelations lounge after Trivia as we were not Captains Club members.

 

 

We loved the buffet, great food and selection, kinda hard to find a table quite often though.

And the buffet coffee is Lavazza, a decent Italian brand, way better than our usual cruise line, and nice teabags instead of cheapo Lipton ones.

 

And we loved Tuscan Grill, best filet mignon ever, and the Sushi was OK, and Qsine was - interesting. Ate at each 3 times. And not expensive if you book a 9 dinner package with 20% off, at least we got that right.

 

 

Next time we have to try to get the comped drinks package.

[Griller]

So sorry you went through this.

 

Keith

 

Missing towels etc isn't going to bother me much, steward kept the cabin clean OK, and I soon found the nearest place to get ice.

One day I was carrying the ice bucket up to deck 10 and Captain Kate was coming down the stairs and offered to go get it for me.

I didn't know I Iooked so old and helpless................ what an incredibly nice thing for a Captain to do.............anyway I declined but thanked her.

Edited October 27, 2017 by Griller

[Keith1010]

I think the Captain offering to get you ice says a lot about the positive attributes about the Captain.

 

To me each crew member represents the cruise ship and the cruise line and a cabin steward is certainly a key person who interfaces with guests.

 

I am a believer in providing feedback when someone provides exceptional service and when one provides just the opposite. I agree with Mynki that in hindsight it would have been a good idea to provide the feedback to guest relations.

 

May I ask how your cruise was otherwise?

 

Keith

[hcat]

Poor service.....should have reported it early on...and you could have called him when u wanted ice...Needs retraining or a pep talk..

Hope you did not tip any extra amt for him.

 

We have only had one awful / lazy attendant..on Royal C, never on X..some are better than others but most do a very good to exellent job.

[Griller]

I think the Captain offering to get you ice says a lot about the positive attributes about the Captain.

 

To me each crew member represents the cruise ship and the cruise line and a cabin steward is certainly a key person who interfaces with guests.

 

I am a believer in providing feedback when someone provides exceptional service and when one provides just the opposite. I agree with Mynki that in hindsight it would have been a good idea to provide the feedback to guest relations.

 

May I ask how your cruise was otherwise?

 

Keith

 

Pretty nice cruise on the whole, I did mention a few things in a post above.

We are used to cabin stewards being very busy and having more cabins to look after, and also most cruiselines have bigger ice buckets and a fridge to keep the ice solid longer.

We like to have ice available, its easy to get ourselves and we never ask the cabin steward for any service above the basic bedmaking and bathroom service.

[KidCruze]

I would not say this was normal. We have always had much better service on Celebrity, compared to other lines. They stewards are responsible for fewer cabins compared to other lines, so they can provide better service to each one. I wonder if your cabin steward was new. On my last cruise with Royal, our room steward forgot towels twice, each time I called him and asked for more. I also learned he was new.

I thought they did away with paper statements? I don't recall one on our last 2 cruises. I think our statement was only accessed through the TV, and emailed to us at the end of the cruise. But I wouldn't be upset about it not being in an envelope. Someone could have read it before putting in the envelope. Besides, the cabin steward has seen your dirty laundry, how shocking could your statement be after that? :')

It is common for room stewards to leave envelopes for additional tips. I would have been a little taken aback had he written a specific amount he was requesting, but leaving the envelope is no big deal.

At the beginning of the cruise, you can request your cabin steward to bring you new ice everyday. I typically do this. I know this is over and above the basic job duties, but that is what the envelopes are for.

[TeeRick]

Griller - I think you just got a mediocre cabin steward which I believe is unusual for Celebrity. Your experience should be detailed in the online post-cruise survey.

[Griller]

I would not say this was normal. We have always had much better service on Celebrity, compared to other lines. They stewards are responsible for fewer cabins compared to other lines, so they can provide better service to each one. I wonder if your cabin steward was new. On my last cruise with Royal, our room steward forgot towels twice, each time I called him and asked for more. I also learned he was new.

I thought they did away with paper statements? I don't recall one on our last 2 cruises. I think our statement was only accessed through the TV, and emailed to us at the end of the cruise. But I wouldn't be upset about it not being in an envelope. Someone could have read it before putting in the envelope. Besides, the cabin steward has seen your dirty laundry, how shocking could your statement be after that? :')

It is common for room stewards to leave envelopes for additional tips. I would have been a little taken aback had he written a specific amount he was requesting, but leaving the envelope is no big deal.

At the beginning of the cruise, you can request your cabin steward to bring you new ice everyday. I typically do this. I know this is over and above the basic job duties, but that is what the envelopes are for.

 

Garfield had been with Celebrity 8 years. He never saw our laundry we don't leave it lying around. We did request ice morning and evening. Rarely got it. No big deal, probably a good reason why after 8 years Garfield is still on servicing the lowest grade cabins like ours.

It was OK overall, we know its a mass market line just like Princess is. Never had a tip envelope left by a steward on Princess since auto gratuity started.

[cruisestitch]

No fridge? All staterooms have a mini bar, as far as I know. Seems very odd that you didn't have a refrigeration unit of some sort.

[uktraveller]

We usually prepay our gratuities, or leave the auto gratuity on if we have OBC. We have never had a stateroom attendant request additional tips by leaving an envelope..... and we would be very annoyed if they had!

[helen haywood]

Perhaps the Summit does not have mini-fridges in the cabins? Never sailed her. OP, please try a Solstice Class ship; a totally different Celebrity experience. Regarding the final paper invoice, I haven't gotten one for our past several cruises, I think they have done away with them, but when I did get them it was a one or two page sheet folded and put in the mail slot outside the door. There was no envelope.

[CruisingChick]

Hi, please excuse what are probably dumb questions but we just had out first Celebrity cruise on Summit and are interested to know if what we experienced is "normal".

 

We had a somewhat mediocre cabin steward- he was very forgetful about things like the daily program, towels, bathmat, and most of all ice - when we asked him how many cabins he had to service it was 10. A mix of inside and balcony.

10 doesn't seem many compared to other lines we've been on. Is that a usual number for Celebrity?

 

There was no fridge we could use in our inside cabin. Is that usual?

 

On the penultimate evening of the cruise we came back to our cabin and found our onboard account statement face up on the bed, not in an envelope or anything, and an envelope with the cabin stewards name on it and an amount for extra tip. Is that usual?

 

Not sure I want the cabin steward reading my account....................... just seems wrong...not that there was anything unusual on there.

 

The last thing he said to us - rather sharply - was "you have to be out of the cabin by 8am OK"

 

Is it usual to be so brusque to passengers about vacating the cabin on Celebrity? English was his first language as he came from Jamaica,

 

We hadn't complained about him, or to him about his deficiencies, or been anything but decent tidy passengers who gave him very little to do in our cabin.

 

We have done 25 Celebrity cruises. The most recent on Summit 9/24 - 10/8 and we have never had happen what you describe to that extent. We always have had a mini fridge in our stateroom.

 

There have been a few cruises where the cabin attendant did not make up our room until late in the day and once they forgot to do it in the evening. We have never had them tell us to be out of the room by 8 am (although that is Celebrity's policy).

 

On our past few cruises we have not even received out account statement delievered to our room prior to departing. Not sure why.

 

I would say what you described is not normal at all for Celebrity.

[easyboy]

Feel sorry for your experience. I would have let his inefficiency pass but not to meddle into my private items, which the account statement may just be one of them. It is already a matter of trust to a cabin crew that I would raise to whoever can take action. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

 

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[DENIE]

As others have said, this seems to be out of the ordinary. We just got back from our first Celebrity cruise a month ago, on the Infinity (same class as Summit). We decided to just do ocean view on this one to save a few dollars, so we weren't in any kind of upgraded experience. Our cabin steward was fantastic, and so pleasant. We saw her every day, several times, and were always greeted by name and with a smile. Instead of leaving something extra for her at the end, we left additional tips during our cruise (as we did with some of our bartenders and waitstaff). She took excellent care of us and our room.

 

As for places we could or could not be, we knew that ahead of time, and it did nothing to diminish our experience. We look forward to sailing on the Silhouette in 2019. Of our last cruise, and the one in 2019, we did opt for a package that includes the drinks, which helps our planning.

[kenevenpar]

 

 

Next time we have to try to get the comped drinks package.

 

They may be described as a "Free Perk" but in most cases they are not free. Some cruises may be priced without perks (Exciting Deals, TA's, etc), but try to add drinks or OBC, and you can see how free they really are.

 

Did you have a bunch of OBC? I have never had an onboard spend of $30, let alone double digits, even with all four "perks".

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. And yes, Captain Kate is that friendly and helpful.

 

Ken

[ken_ll]

Hi, please excuse what are probably dumb questions but we just had out first Celebrity cruise on Summit and are interested to know if what we experienced is "normal

We had a somewhat mediocre cabin steward- he was very forgetful about things like the daily program, towels, bathmat, and most of all ice - when we asked him how many cabins he had to service it was 10. A mix of inside and balcony.

10 doesn't seem many compared to other lines we've been on. Is that a usual number for Celebrity?

 

There was no fridge we could use in our inside cabin. Is that usual?

 

On the penultimate evening of the cruise we came back to our cabin and found our onboard account statement face up on the bed, not in an envelope or anything, and an envelope with the cabin stewards name on it and an amount for extra tip. Is that usual?

 

Not sure I want the cabin steward reading my account....................... just seems wrong...not that there was anything unusual on there.

 

The last thing he said to us - rather sharply - was "you have to be out of the cabin by 8am OK"

 

Is it usual to be so brusque to passengers about vacating the cabin on Celebrity? English was his first language as he came from Jamaica,

 

We hadn't complained about him, or to him about his deficiencies, or been anything but decent tidy passengers who gave him very little to do in our cabin.

Griller: I have sailed the Summit many times and again this November. I have never had similar service on this ship.

 

I did have have this type of experience on another line and took it as an opportunity for training. Passenger training the staff.

 

In your situation, the empty ice bucket would have been that chance when the steward was in the hallway. If he had seen you and you commented, "Just going to get some ice", it may have twigged his memory cells and the opportunity to introduce other short-comings.

 

I always got my own envelopes, but in this scenarios he would not have gotten anything from me, but the wife would have felt sorry for him and he would have received something extra. Not deserving but probably needed the extra cash more than we did.

[ORV]

Just out of curiosity, you didn't happen to remove the auto grats did you?

 

If so that might explain the envelope.

[Cruise Junky]

my outstanding cabin steward personally handed me my bill not in an envelope last month on Solstice so perhaps the process has changed and now Cabin Stewards are responsible for it's delivery which would explain why it was on your bed and not in your mail slot in an envelope.

 

And as asked above, did you perhaps remove your gratuity? that may explain the envelope

[Griller]

Just out of curiosity, you didn't happen to remove the auto grats did you?

 

If so that might explain the envelope.

 

Didn't know you were even able to do that on Celebrity, I had some T/A OBC and that took care of it.

[Iamcruzin]

Hi, please excuse what are probably dumb questions but we just had out first Celebrity cruise on Summit and are interested to know if what we experienced is "normal".

 

We had a somewhat mediocre cabin steward- he was very forgetful about things like the daily program, towels, bathmat, and most of all ice - when we asked him how many cabins he had to service it was 10. A mix of inside and balcony.

10 doesn't seem many compared to other lines we've been on. Is that a usual number for Celebrity?

 

There was no fridge we could use in our inside cabin. Is that usual?

 

On the penultimate evening of the cruise we came back to our cabin and found our onboard account statement face up on the bed, not in an envelope or anything, and an envelope with the cabin stewards name on it and an amount for extra tip. Is that usual?

 

Not sure I want the cabin steward reading my account....................... just seems wrong...not that there was anything unusual on there.

 

The last thing he said to us - rather sharply - was "you have to be out of the cabin by 8am OK"

 

Is it usual to be so brusque to passengers about vacating the cabin on Celebrity? English was his first language as he came from Jamaica,

 

We hadn't complained about him, or to him about his deficiencies, or been anything but decent tidy passengers who gave him very little to do in our cabin.

 

I know I will get flamed for saying this but...As I was reading your post I knew that the steward had to be Jamaican before you even mentioned it. When I was on the Summit we had a great room steward and everyone in the MDR were friendly and gave excellent service. However it was a good thing that the Jamaican bar tenders and waiters received a tip that was added to my drink purchase because they wouldn't have received a dime from me. By mid cruise if I saw that the bartender was from Jamaica I waited for someone else.

Edited October 27, 2017 by Iamcruzin

[Iamcruzin]

Next time we have to try to get the comped drinks package.

 

I can't afford to sail Celebrity unless I book at least an ocean view with the drink package as my choice of perks. I would go broke just buying coffee let alone a cocktail or two.

[ORV]

Didn't know you were even able to do that on Celebrity, I had some T/A OBC and that took care of it.

 

Well then there was no excuse for what the steward did. He was just trying to scam you.

 

In 8 years of cruising on Celebrity I've never seen a steward leave an envelope.