Ever increasing sales pressure?

[cruising cockroach]

36 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

 I almost felt like they had been threatened with something dire if they didn't produce certain levels of sales results. I have never in all of our cruises on X (or anywhere else) seen that amount of desperation.

 

Given the desperate behaviour, I wouldn't be surprised (or would be surprise if they weren't being incentivized, to keep their job).

 

If I had someone to video me, I'd almost treat it as I was running the hawker gauntlet in Egypt.  Counter at $1 and slowly move up to $5 tops.

[lisiamc]

1 hour ago, mek said:

That really is the simple solution - tell them you have already booked all of the specialty restaurants.  I have yet to be really bothered by anyone trying to sell "extras" on any cruise I've ever taken. For the most part I can completely ignore them or say "no thanks" and they know from my tone to leave me alone.

You have more fortitude than I do, I think.  There is a limit to the number of times I can say “no thank you” or “already booked” to the same questions, every day, to the same people who asked me earlier in the day, and multiple times in the previous days, without looking and sounding irritated.  More than 10 times every day is pushing it, and we’re way over that on this cruise.  Maybe I should stick a post-it on my forehead with “NO!  Don’t even ask!” on it. I can’t think of any reason why I should pay cruise prices to be irritated at people every day.  I can be irritated at home for free.

[vtcruising]

There are incentives for the crew for each sale they make (package upgrades, specialty dining, wine tastings, etc.). I'm sure they can augment their income nicely if they make a lot of sales. If we are going to do a wine tasting, we make sure to have the sommelier in our main restaurant  make the sale and then we are best buds for the rest of the cruise. 🙂

 

I'm wondering if on the ships that people have described as very aggressive the managers have some really worthwhile prize/bonus for the top seller that is making them seem desperate, or a quota they have to make each cruise to get a promotion. Just guesses, since that desperation is out of the norm for what we've ever experienced on a cruise ship. I would be very uncomfortable having someone follow me down the hall.

 

On the last two cruises on the Edge, there were no specialty reservations to be had so it wasn't an issue. The shopkeepers weren't in the hallways trying to lure us inside on our way back from the theater, as they had done on the Reflection in 2017. The only time someone tried to sell us something on the last cruise was for the Blendtique Wine event - a couple of sommeliers tried to sell us that at dinner, but we have done it before (enjoyed it, but not likely we would do again).

[Nebr.cruiser]

There was some sales pressure for our cruise on the Silhouette in November.  I wouldn't call it relentless, but certainly more than ever before.  I was all right with us because we had lots of OBC to use up and some of the MDR meals just weren't that great.

 

We figured out quickly that they were anxious to sell meals and would bargain.  Turned down a 3 meal package for I think $125; paid in total $80 for three meals.

 

Our three meals in specialties were $25, $25 and $30, about half price.    We wouldn't pay it if we didn't have a lot of OBC though.  You can barely find a meal that high priced where we live--really, you have to look hard!  

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, lisiamc said:

 

We were on the Silhouette Transatlantic from Southampton with you.  I thought the sales pressure was unacceptably high then, but the pressure on Solstice for this cruise makes Silhouette seem very civilised in comparison!

 

 

Wow... Silhouette on the crossing was the worse we have experienced.  

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I experienced similar on Summit in December. Most glaring was specialty restaraunt staff blocking ingress/egress on deck 1 in the boarding area when going ashore or coming back. They would hound you as you were waiting in the security queue, or while waiting for elevators, while waiting to get scanned out by security etc.. They also came to our table MULTIPLE times each and every meal interrupting us with their pitch. A complaint to the MDR Maitre'd did nothing to alleviate the pressure.

 

From all reports the specialty venues were virtually empty each and every night. Little was being offered in discounts (10% seemed about the normal pitch).  If they lowered the pricing to a more reasonable level they would not have an issue filling the venues. At $25-35 I will do specialty dining 2, maybe 3 times in 7 days. At $45-65 I will contentedly enjoy the MDR each and every night...... So instead of $75-115 each in extra revenue from me and my traveling companion they will get ZERO!

[chemmo]

Wow! 

 

Never experienced anything that intense...I would suggest everyone who experiences this level of ‘harassment’, which is how I would describe this behaviour, continues to report it. If I was being chased down the corridor with my ‘no thanks’ not being listened to I wouldn’t be happy. 

 

I guess one of the snags is that if for every 4 people who don’t want to interact, haggle and book the 5th guest does.... So the ‘system’ and the seller get the feedback that a direct sales approach works...After an hour the waiter may have secured an additional 6/8/10 bookings which looks good to the management team. The fact he may have annoyed many other guests to get those bookings is not noted.

 

I think the snag with the speciality restaurants is the unpredictability of bookings. We have been on cruises (Eclipse and Reflection) where the restaurants were busy and we believe next to no discounts offered and others (another Eclipse and Equinox) where we have experienced nearly empty restaurants... The present ‘bartering’ for a cheap meal once on board I do find very odd. Why not offer much better meal deals pre cruise? If everyone knew that the 3/4 night package booked precruise was better than any deal they could get on board then they would book it and this ‘sales and haggling’ culture wouldn’t have a home.

 

Worst we have had was one night dining in Tuscan and the waiter towards the end of the meal asked us if we would like to book another evening there and he would arrange us a discount. We explained that we were in a RS, so we didn’t pay anyway and we already had further nights booked. Minutes later he was back with a triumphant smile and a menu, he could offer us a discount at a special event meal that was not included in our package!?!?

 

If I was a restaurant manager I would not want to have my staff spend so much time running around the ship. There must be better ways to secure sales....

 

Lower the initial price of the meal to start with.

Offer pre cruise packages at a price guaranteed not to be beaten on board.

 

[zeberdee]

I guess this is pretty common on some cruise lines now, I know we encountered this on RC before.
We are taking our first Celebrity cruise in February 2020 and I am wondering if we should make a badge or stickers to wear saying ' No pressure sales Thank you'. 🙄
Hopefully as people seem to be giving feed back about this, the powers that be will take this on board (no pun intended) and stop or at least curb how any up-selling is done. 🤞

[jkgourmet]

I've felt this way about the photographers since my very first cruise in 1992.  Persistent pests.

[lisiamc]

A bit of an update:

 

On the way to dinner tonight, DH and I had only one approach for booking a dinner, which was a positive change.  After dinner, Sam, the BLU Maitre d’, asked if he could speak to us about the comment card.  So that was a very quick response!  I explained about the high-pressure feeling, the sheer number of times we had to say “no” every day, and the staff trying to collar people as they walked to the lift after coming  back onto the ship, which he was surprised to hear about

 

He thanked us for our input, and said he was glad to be aware of the problem.  I guess time will tell how the sales approaches will change.  

[vtcruising]

12 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

A bit of an update:

 

On the way to dinner tonight, DH and I had only one approach for booking a dinner, which was a positive change.  After dinner, Sam, the BLU Maitre d’, asked if he could speak to us about the comment card.  So that was a very quick response!  I explained about the high-pressure feeling, the sheer number of times we had to say “no” every day, and the staff trying to collar people as they walked to the lift after coming  back onto the ship, which he was surprised to hear about

 

He thanked us for our input, and said he was glad to be aware of the problem.  I guess time will tell how the sales approaches will change.  

Thanks for doing the comment card - it sounds like it might help on the Solstice. Also, thanks for this thread since they do read Cruise Critic.  Since so many people are echoing your concerns, hopefully it will help fleet-wide. 🙂

Edited February 18, 2019 by vtcruising

[miched]

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

 

Recommend filling out an Attention to Details form and drop at front desk and point out in Survey.   If enough of us do I think we will see improvement.

 

I suggest the same

 

We were on a 14 day cruise and the first few days we were able to get drink service in the Solarium.  The fourth day was a cruise day and we were lounging in there.  We waited and waited for a server and never seen one.  We seen a few walk thru and tried to call them over.   I ended up going to the bar to get our drinks.   On the way back I seen the bar manager and told him about our lack of service.   He said that they received many complaints from passengers that were trying to relax and were being constantly asked by the  servers if they wanted a drink so he discontinued service there.   I said then they should have put up a sign stating that there wasn’t going to be any service and his reply was there isn’t any need to tell the passengers everything we do.

 

I then told him that many on CC complain  about lack of  about  drink servers around the pools and this could be the reason as we don’t know and are expecting it.  He then got a little testy and said let them write what they want,  they don’t control what we do.  I said I think so when we give a bad rating in the survey and it is because of lack of something that could be corrected.   He then got rather upset and said don’t let one small issue ruin it.   

 

I wrote a commnet card and  also gave the bar service related to that a bad rating.

 

If enough do it they may change.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

So so the best way 

[miched]

Is it possible to book and then cancel a day before?  

 

If it doesn't stop that might be a option.  Make a booking and then cancel before the drop dead time.   If they got filled up and then ended up with a empty restuarant they might get the message that hounding the passengers doesn’t work.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

It sounds like this has gotten out of hand only recently.  We were on Infinity in late October, and I don't remember anyone approaching us.  The Galley Tour put on quite a pitch, but we walked into that.

 

With all these excursion sales and $20 deposit promos, I have to wonder if there's a cash flow problem.

[rowingmachine]

I am amazed that anybody has the appetite after a few days on board to even consider spending any more on food or eating it, so for us refusal should be very easy.  We were looking for a 2 day  St Petersburg tour without a lunch, but they  are thin on the ground  Drinking is another matter.  I think that on holiday  everywhere you have to be thick skinned enough to withstand most demands for money because being generous can make your life more difficult. You are right Luvcrusn and others. Never been on a Celebrity Cruise yet but this sounds like well heeled begging.

[ABoatNerd]

This behavior has been ongoing for many years. I have experienced the high pressure, in your face, Celebrity hawking as described above. The worst situation was on a south america cruise in February 2015.

 

In the outside eating area of the sunset cafe I had a verbal altercation with a specialty restaurant staff member who was harassing an elderly couple trying to eat their lunch. He was bent over between the couple and yelling at them to purchase a package. The lady was crying.

 

This was after he was rejected by our group.  I took a picture for evidence. Then I got up and engaged him; I advised him that his picture would "go places" and I would have him charged with harassment. That worked. He ran from the area.

 

I then made a complaint with guest relations and provided a written note to the hotel manager.

 

This behavior is cheap and devalues the cruise experience. 

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, lisiamc said:

A bit of an update:

 

On the way to dinner tonight, DH and I had only one approach for booking a dinner, which was a positive change.  After dinner, Sam, the BLU Maitre d’, asked if he could speak to us about the comment card.  So that was a very quick response!  I explained about the high-pressure feeling, the sheer number of times we had to say “no” every day, and the staff trying to collar people as they walked to the lift after coming  back onto the ship, which he was surprised to hear about

 

He thanked us for our input, and said he was glad to be aware of the problem.  I guess time will tell how the sales approaches will change.  

That is refreshing to hear.   I was chatting with the Hotel Director on Silhouette and said something about the comment cards and Attention to Detail cards.   She said they get them daily and definitely and said that a summary were sent to the Captain and pertinent Staff Director for action.   Compliments are also passed on the Staff Member a fast as possible so encourage them during the cruise.

[freddie]

It is indeed refreshing to read that the serious sales pressure seems to be diminishing a bit on your cruise, lisiamc.

 

I remain curious whether this is a cruiseline-wide policy or something that varies from ship to ship and cruise to cruise, depending upon who is the hotel manager (or whoever would be the principal driver of onboard revenue-generation).

 

Further, as we will be cruising on X in an RS, would it be of any use to show the eager salespeople our keycard to let them know that we already have the specialty restaurant benefit and that they are therefore pretty much wasting their time with us?   Do the keycards even have any indication of cabin or suite type?    Frankly, I would prefer that they did not; but for this particular purpose it might be handy.

 

Sorry to be asking so many questions; but X is new to us.   Despite the rather off-putting aspect of this aggressive sales activity, we remain excited about our cruise on X to Japan and will make the best of it.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

17 hours ago, chemmo said:

If I was a restaurant manager I would not want to have my staff spend so much time running around the ship. There must be better ways to secure sales....

 

Lower the initial price of the meal to start with.

Offer pre cruise packages at a price guaranteed not to be beaten on board.

 

 

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If they offered a decent pre-cruise multi-night price AND allowed guests the ability to book specific nights and times for multi-night packages like NCL does I almost guarantee they would see a sharp increase in bookings!

[BPCW]

Spent a week on Equinox last month and we got asked at least 10 times on the first day if we wanted to upgrade our drink package.  Maybe 5-6 times on the second day. It gets REALLY annoying telling them (and showing them our seapass) we already have it. Didn’t get hit with the specialty dining hustle and the upgraded drink package people were much, much less after day 2.  Still super annoying though - we already paid $2,500 for a cruise, not sure why they think hounding people over and over (and for people like us who already upgraded prior to boarding) is a good tactic. 

Edited February 19, 2019 by BPCW

[Knolmom]

I hope this not happen to our group of 6 next week. I will listen politely, ON E, in the main dining room and then politely tell them that if this spiel continues nightly, I will remove the tips from our folio and, in addition, I will rate the waiter, the assistant waiter thé maître D  BY NAME and anyone else who approaches us repeatedly in this fashion as a1 out of 10. 

[MisterBill99]

1 hour ago, freddie said:

Further, as we will be cruising on X in an RS, would it be of any use to show the eager salespeople our keycard to let them know that we already have the specialty restaurant benefit and that they are therefore pretty much wasting their time with us?   Do the keycards even have any indication of cabin or suite type?    Frankly, I would prefer that they did not; but for this particular purpose it might be handy.

 

 

Yes, your key card will be a different color if you're in a suite (also different for Aqua and Concierge).

[lisiamc]

1 hour ago, freddie said:

It is indeed refreshing to read that the serious sales pressure seems to be diminishing a bit on your cruise, lisiamc.

 

I remain curious whether this is a cruiseline-wide policy or something that varies from ship to ship and cruise to cruise, depending upon who is the hotel manager (or whoever would be the principal driver of onboard revenue-generation).

 

Further, as we will be cruising on X in an RS, would it be of any use to show the eager salespeople our keycard to let them know that we already have the specialty restaurant benefit and that they are therefore pretty much wasting their time with us?   Do the keycards even have any indication of cabin or suite type?    Frankly, I would prefer that they did not; but for this particular purpose it might be handy.

 

Sorry to be asking so many questions; but X is new to us.   Despite the rather off-putting aspect of this aggressive sales activity, we remain excited about our cruise on X to Japan and will make the best of it.

 

freddie, for us the sales pitch started as soon as we were close enough to speak to, so seeing the colour of our key card wouldn’t have been much of a factor, and we keep ours tucked away anyway.  Nor was having said no to the same person earlier that day or yesterday or multiple times before.  They speak to so many people that asking you before doesn’t usually stick in their memories.  And yesterday they might have been offering a wine pairing dinner, and today it’s the deck bbq.

 

I will say that today has been a different day so far.  There are desks by the Oceanview Cafe, so that people who want a meal or a wine deal can easily get details or sign up, but there hasn’t been any pressure.  For me, they seem to have reached an ideal balance between being aware that things are on offer, and being accosted.  

 

Sam, the Blu Maitre d’ that I chatted with last night, seems very pro-active, and has good people skills with his staff and with the passengers.  I think he’s had a lot to do with calming down the sales pitches, and I also think he will go far in the company.

[K12Guy]

On 2/17/2019 at 6:52 PM, cruising cockroach said:

If LLP can't boost revenue due to a passenger revolt, she'll just have to find other means of revenue or cut costs elsewhere.   Gruel in the MDR next?

And what is wrong with gruel? Add tomatoes and all is good. Or peaches. Peaches may work too. Anything to kill the gruel.

 

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, lisiamc said:

 

 

I will say that today has been a different day so far.  There are desks by the Oceanview Cafe, so that people who want a meal or a wine deal can easily get details or sign up, but there hasn’t been any pressure.  For me, they seem to have reached an ideal balance between being aware that things are on offer, and being accosted.  

 

Sam, the Blu Maitre d’ that I chatted with last night, seems very pro-active, and has good people skills with his staff and with the passengers.  I think he’s had a lot to do with calming down the sales pitches, and I also think he will go far in the company.

 

Good to hear!