Negative Silhouette Reviews In The Med

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

No criticism here...as a retired educator, I've had my fill.  I think many people prefer to cruise on ships without lots of kids but won't openly admit it because of the hazing that often ensues...like what you received in the way of comments.  Less children....it's why we consciously chose Celebrity over Royal...but when our kids were younger, that was our line of choice because we knew they would be adequately entertained.  Even the best behaved kids will sow some wild oats when in a new element with some new found freedoms.  We are on Silly in November over Thanksgiving.  It's a 9 nighter leaving on a Friday instead of the typical Saturday or Sunday embarkation.  It is my hope that families looking for a vacation over the Thanksgiving break will opt for a 7 nighter instead.  Like the poster who had the retreat of the RS, we do as well.  But as others have pointed out, a customer is a customer and Celebrity has a responsibility to live up to the product they advertise.  Providing day time entertainment in the theater, both large, and in the movie, is an excellent idea.  If kids aren't given something productive to do, they will find ways to entertain themselves.

g - Yes we will and then some! LOL

 

bon voyage

[dorisdoris1]

I could drone on and on about things wrong with this Cruise,but I dnt feel the need to justify my comments

i have cruised lots,and this was awful.

I won’t cruise from 

Uk again,and Celebrity will be a long time off getting my money as my confidence in this Cruisline is Zero now.

i can confirm that the follow up Customer Service is equally bad.

Ive never had an experience like it and it cost a fortune.

 

 

 

 

 

[bogofman]

Unless you are travelling with Kids i would avoid any cruise leaving Southampton during the 6 weeks of the school break ( end of july to end of August for England and two weeks earlier for Scotland)  and maybe two weeks before and after those dates.

 

otherwise the cruise will be completely different to what you get outside those dates.

 

we have cruise during those dates from European Ports, such as Barcelona, Venice and Rome.  There are European kids on board and some UK but not in the number that can be experienced from Southampton. 

 

We always had a good experience on those cruises. 

 

maybe not understanding their language ( leaving European port) makes them seem better behaved🙃

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ipeeinthepool]

I'll be sailing on the Silhouette in 175 days, hopefully everything will be sorted out by then.

[Doubt It]

Yes Celebrity, and all other purveyors of products and services, have a responsibility to live up to the product they advertise.

 

Selling cruises is an implied contract - based on the fact the cruise contract does not adequately spell out details on food, on board atmosphere, service levels, composition of passengers. The implied contract is based on advertising undertaken by the seller. An implied contract is just as legal as an express contract (ie the cruise contract).

 

The Silly August cruise was a failure of implied contract - Celebrity is liable in this regard.

 

Taking this further, a cruise line should clearly define in their marketing and other documents the on board experience based on their classes of ships - as there are distinct differences in availability of the product, services and atmosphere aboard different classes of vessels. However, in reviewing on line advertising, there is little mention of differences in on board experience based on the class of vessel.

 

Versus your local chain restaurant where there can be some slight variation in your favorite dish you repeatedly order, selling a cruise involves more complexity. It behooves the cruise lines to be very clear what is the on board experience to be provided on a XYZ cruise line, in fact, on each specific voyage. 

 

I hold every service and product provider to a very high standard based on their advertising. If they fail to deliver, they are advised and action would be taken to acquire remediation.  Others allow the product delivered to be continuously degraded with no push back. People have their own unique approaches. 

 

For Celebrity guests on that Silly cruise - you are entitled to compensation due to a broken implied contract. Celebrity should be ashamed to have allowed this to happen, but they are not, because the level of Celebrity arrogance has no limit these days. Hence why many long term guests, including myself, no longer patronize this company.

[ipeeinthepool]

25 minutes ago, Doubt It said:

Yes Celebrity, and all other purveyors of products and services, have a responsibility to live up to the product they advertise.

 

Selling cruises is an implied contract - based on the fact the cruise contract does not adequately spell out details on food, on board atmosphere, service levels, composition of passengers. The implied contract is based on advertising undertaken by the seller. An implied contract is just as legal as an express contract (ie the cruise contract).

 

The Silly August cruise was a failure of implied contract - Celebrity is liable in this regard.

 

Taking this further, a cruise line should clearly define in their marketing and other documents the on board experience based on their classes of ships - as there are distinct differences in availability of the product, services and atmosphere aboard different classes of vessels. However, in reviewing on line advertising, there is little mention of differences in on board experience based on the class of vessel.

 

Versus your local chain restaurant where there can be some slight variation in your favorite dish you repeatedly order, selling a cruise involves more complexity. It behooves the cruise lines to be very clear what is the on board experience to be provided on a XYZ cruise line, in fact, on each specific voyage. 

 

I hold every service and product provider to a very high standard based on their advertising. If they fail to deliver, they are advised and action would be taken to acquire remediation.  Others allow the product delivered to be continuously degraded with no push back. People have their own unique approaches. 

 

For Celebrity guests on that Silly cruise - you are entitled to compensation due to a broken implied contract. Celebrity should be ashamed to have allowed this to happen, but they are not, because the level of Celebrity arrogance has no limit these days. Hence why many long term guests, including myself, no longer patronize this company.

 

We'll miss you on the Silhouette in February

[Bo1953]

36 minutes ago, Doubt It said:

Yes Celebrity, and all other purveyors of products and services, have a responsibility to live up to the product they advertise.

 

Selling cruises is an implied contract - based on the fact the cruise contract does not adequately spell out details on food, on board atmosphere, service levels, composition of passengers. The implied contract is based on advertising undertaken by the seller. An implied contract is just as legal as an express contract (ie the cruise contract).

 

The Silly August cruise was a failure of implied contract - Celebrity is liable in this regard.

 

Taking this further, a cruise line should clearly define in their marketing and other documents the on board experience based on their classes of ships - as there are distinct differences in availability of the product, services and atmosphere aboard different classes of vessels. However, in reviewing on line advertising, there is little mention of differences in on board experience based on the class of vessel.

 

Versus your local chain restaurant where there can be some slight variation in your favorite dish you repeatedly order, selling a cruise involves more complexity. It behooves the cruise lines to be very clear what is the on board experience to be provided on a XYZ cruise line, in fact, on each specific voyage. 

 

I hold every service and product provider to a very high standard based on their advertising. If they fail to deliver, they are advised and action would be taken to acquire remediation.  Others allow the product delivered to be continuously degraded with no push back. People have their own unique approaches. 

 

For Celebrity guests on that Silly cruise - you are entitled to compensation due to a broken implied contract. Celebrity should be ashamed to have allowed this to happen, but they are not, because the level of Celebrity arrogance has no limit these days. Hence why many long term guests, including myself, no longer patronize this company.

I do not know if in Canada what happens, yet here in the U.S. X provides us with what is called a written 'Contract of Carriage" by which they are bound to adhere to.

 

Whereby, verbal or other unauthorized changing of the same contract is not considered a part of the official contract, rather we like it or not. We give our consent to adhere to their contact at first sign up for any sailing. Which indicates there will be no changes to the contract unless in writing and signed by an official of X or its' official designee.

 

If you are 'implying' that X has not honoured this written Official Contract of Carriage, please point out the provisions that they are in breach of.

 

Sounds like 'some' passengers and potential passengers want guarantees for their 'quality of life' sailing vs what others see as their right for their 'quality of sailing' for which they have paid for, too.

 

Will we all be happy at any one time on any sailing? No way. Reminds me of a prior post from a passenger who sailed to SA during a holiday where there were quite a few (50+) unruly passengers and children aboard who were 'unceremoniously' dis-embarked after a few ports due to behaviour. Which tells me that X, at least in this instance, took action on unruly passengers.

 

I will be the first to admit that I have not, yet, read the full contract yet do not think there is anything along the lines of breaching you are pointing out... could be incorrect to be sure.

 

bon voyage

Edited August 23, 2019 by Bo1953

[anniegb]

1 hour ago, bogofman said:

Unless you are travelling with Kids i would avoid any cruise leaving Southampton during the 6 weeks of the school break ( end of july to end of August for England and two weeks earlier for Scotland)  and maybe two weeks before and after those dates.

 

otherwise the cruise will be completely different to what you get outside those dates.

 

we have cruise during those dates from European Ports, such as Barcelona, Venice and Rome.  There are European kids on board and some UK but not in the number that can be experienced from Southampton. 

 

We always had a good experience on those cruises. 

 

maybe not understanding their language ( leaving European port) makes them seem better behaved🙃

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK school holidays take place between end of June to the beginning of September and vary by region and country.

 

I have sailed with 400 Spanish school children on MSC and they were not quiet.

 

Are US based ships quiet during Spring Break??

 

Annie

[Bo1953]

14 minutes ago, anniegb said:

UK school holidays take place between end of June to the beginning of September and vary by region and country.

 

I have sailed with 400 Spanish school children on MSC and they were not quiet.

 

Are US based ships quiet during Spring Break??

 

Annie

HA HA HA, not!

 

Some U.S. passengers on X avoid our school holidays as well... for fear of children and marauding teenagers disrupting the tranquility during the sailing...

 

bon voyage

Edited August 23, 2019 by Bo1953

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, Doubt It said:

Yes Celebrity, and all other purveyors of products and services, have a responsibility to live up to the product they advertise.

 

Selling cruises is an implied contract - based on the fact the cruise contract does not adequately spell out details on food, on board atmosphere, service levels, composition of passengers. The implied contract is based on advertising undertaken by the seller. An implied contract is just as legal as an express contract (ie the cruise contract).

 

The Silly August cruise was a failure of implied contract - Celebrity is liable in this regard.

 

Taking this further, a cruise line should clearly define in their marketing and other documents the on board experience based on their classes of ships - as there are distinct differences in availability of the product, services and atmosphere aboard different classes of vessels. However, in reviewing on line advertising, there is little mention of differences in on board experience based on the class of vessel.

 

Versus your local chain restaurant where there can be some slight variation in your favorite dish you repeatedly order, selling a cruise involves more complexity. It behooves the cruise lines to be very clear what is the on board experience to be provided on a XYZ cruise line, in fact, on each specific voyage. 

 

I hold every service and product provider to a very high standard based on their advertising. If they fail to deliver, they are advised and action would be taken to acquire remediation.  Others allow the product delivered to be continuously degraded with no push back. People have their own unique approaches. 

 

For Celebrity guests on that Silly cruise - you are entitled to compensation due to a broken implied contract. Celebrity should be ashamed to have allowed this to happen, but they are not, because the level of Celebrity arrogance has no limit these days. Hence why many long term guests, including myself, no longer patronize this company.

Entitled to compensation on an implied contract?  Good luck with proving that in court.  Happy cruising on whatever cruise lines that might work better for you.

[Georgia_Peaches]

16 minutes ago, anniegb said:

 

 

Are US based ships quiet during Spring Break??

 

Annie

Heavens NO!  Quite the opposite, as you can imagine.  But until recently, I was bound by the school calendar for planning my cruises.  Twice a year...once in November over Thanksgiving and the other in early April for spring break.  My cruise line of choice has been Celebrity because despite the fact that I was traveling on a school break, the ships were relatively calm with children because of the reputation for drawing an older crowd.  If Celebrity is going to advertise "kids sail free" they are obligated to then provide activities for the barrage of families with children they will likely attract during these travel periods.  From the reviews written on this sailing, Celebrity was nowhere near ready to accommodate 1. the number of children, and 2. the increased number of passengers.  It's interesting because one of the reviews I read was written from the perspective of a parent who was also complaining bc her children had nothing to do and the ship's staff seemed intolerant of having them on board.  It seems both perspectives were dissatisfied.

Edited August 23, 2019 by Georgia_Peaches

[anniegb]

45 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Heavens NO!  Quite the opposite, as you can imagine.  But until recently, I was bound by the school calendar for planning my cruises.  Twice a year...once in November over Thanksgiving and the other in early April for spring break.  My cruise line of choice has been Celebrity because despite the fact that I was traveling on a school break, the ships were relatively calm with children because of the reputation for drawing an older crowd.  If Celebrity is going to advertise "kids sail free" they are obligated to then provide activities for the barrage of families with children they will likely attract during these travel periods.  From the reviews written on this sailing, Celebrity was nowhere near ready to accommodate 1. the number of children, and 2. the increased number of passengers.  It's interesting because one of the reviews I read was written from the perspective of a parent who was also complaining bc her children had nothing to do and the ship's staff seemed intolerant of having them on board.  It seems both perspectives were dissatisfied.

If I was to tell you that I scrutinised the reviews of the cruise on another UK forum, there was not one mention of the incidents posted here ? And they are not reticent.

 

Annie

[dorisdoris1]

Annie

really not sure what you are implying here.

it was my 17 cruise,This happened..of that I can absolutely assure you.

im not going to get into any arguments it’s pointless to do so

celebrity are very aware this cruise was awful and there’s always going to be differing opinions of course there is..however no matter how loyal cruisers are they sometimes have to accept when things aren’t as they should have been..

this is one of those occasions

so whatever you haven’t read on another site is not really relevant

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

19 minutes ago, anniegb said:

If I was to tell you that I scrutinised the reviews of the cruise on another UK forum, there was not one mention of the incidents posted here ? And they are not reticent.

 

Annie

Annie,

Not really sure of your point but  I can say that regardless of whether the cruise experience was good or bad, most people will never take the time to leave a review.  I believe that those who are taking the time to review their experience are giving their perspective/opinion of events which cannot be proven or disproven...as a reader of such events, I can weed through the details and take away what works for me.  I think that's all any who frequent CC for information can do.

[anniegb]

7 minutes ago, dorisdoris1 said:

Annie

really not sure what you are implying here.

it was my 17 cruise,This happened..of that I can absolutely assure you.

im not going to get into any arguments it’s pointless to do so

celebrity are very aware this cruise was awful and there’s always going to be differing opinions of course there is..however no matter how loyal cruisers are they sometimes have to accept when things aren’t as they should have been..

this is one of those occasions

so whatever you haven’t read on another site is not really relevant

 

 

I am implying nothing at all just reporting what was reported on another site.

 

 Possibly they never witnessed anything?

 

 I have been on cruises where people will report an incident and 95% of the ship never saw it.

 

When I left the Millie in Hong Kong just before Christmas 2017, one of the activity staff told me they were expecting over 400 Spanish guests - one third being children.  Celebrity simply don't have the activity staff to handle that.

 

Annie

[anniegb]

7 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Annie,

Not really sure of your point but  I can say that regardless of whether the cruise experience was good or bad, most people will never take the time to leave a review.  I believe that those who are taking the time to review their experience are giving their perspective/opinion of events which cannot be proven or disproven...as a reader of such events, I can weed through the details and take away what works for me.  I think that's all any who frequent CC for information can do.

How often have we read conflicting reviews of the same cruise? I decided to read reviews of the ship as I have a future booking on that ship but not during school holidays.

 

None of them are invalid because that was someone's experience.

 

That is all I am saying.

 

Annie

[Georgia_Peaches]

Just now, anniegb said:

How often have we read conflicting reviews of the same cruise? I decided to read reviews of the ship as I have a future booking on that ship but not during school holidays.

 

None of them are invalid because that was someone's experience.

 

That is all I am saying.

 

Annie

Yes, we are saying the same thing...just in a different way.  I agree with you.  😊

[Luvcrusn]

As been said previously, I believe this cruise and the experiences described by both cruiser with and without children had its problems. I think rather than being a problem with the ship or it's staff, it was a problem brought on by X's marketing Kids Sail Free, and then being ill-prepared to deal with the large numbers of children aboard. X isn't known for catering to children en mass. Yes they have a children's club, but X doesn't have a large amount of "kid-centric" activities and venues. There's no teen club, no water slides, no rock climbing walls, carousels, bumper cars, cartoon characters, flow riders etc. If sailing with children, I'd choose another cruise line based on my knowledge of the cruise experience we've become familiar with on X. The children in our family would be bored on the X ships. Even the best behaved, most well raised, and family supervised children would be, and left to their own devices would find things to occupy themselves along with their new onboard acquaintances.

 

Our last sailing on Silhouette was early December 2018. The crew was lovely and attentive. BUT there were very few children aboard. The only negative was the AGGRESSIVE upselling of beverage packages and specialty dining. It was the worst we've ever seen on a X ship in all of our X cruises.

[Doubt It]

Everyone's analysis is excellent.

 

What is in common is the provider, Celebrity, not ensuring their typical advertised product was in place on this sailing.

 

The reality is that if Celebrity wishes to become more like RCL, consumers should be aware. Celebrity has been a bit forthright in saying that wish to engage a younger patron, so there are consequences to that.

 

Cruise lines are one of the least regulated business segments out there, so consumers should be aware of that. 

 

Fortunately we all have many vacation choices, cruise and otherwise. 

 

 

[Luvcrusn]

43 minutes ago, Doubt It said:

Everyone's analysis is excellent.

 

What is in common is the provider, Celebrity, not ensuring their typical advertised product was in place on this sailing.

 

The reality is that if Celebrity wishes to become more like RCL, consumers should be aware. Celebrity has been a bit forthright in saying that wish to engage a younger patron, so there are consequences to that.

 

Cruise lines are one of the least regulated business segments out there, so consumers should be aware of that. 

 

Fortunately we all have many vacation choices, cruise and otherwise. 

 

 

If X wishes to become more like Royal (seems pointless since Royal already has a sizable fleet and loyal passengers and are owned by the same company) they would need to do more than market "kids sail free." They'd need to put facilities in place for those sailings to provide activities to engage and occupy those young passengers. I don't believe that enough thought was put into the results of that particular marketing strategy, the end result being the cruise we're all discussing. I think while their end goal seems to be aim for an increase in the numbers of 30-50 somethings, they are missing the mark.

Edited August 23, 2019 by Luvcrusn

[dorisdoris1]

I think the number of children was only one part of a much bigger problem and that’s a lack of respect to the fare paying passenger

Food that’s is supposed to be hot was not

Wine that was paid for was not available

Same for Evian ..paid for so dnt give me the other

variation on music is so so easy to achieve

general disdain towards passengers and a lack of the basics by lots of crew..I enjoy saying good morning,hello etc

complete rush job in the MDR

overselling of basics so that the quality of the product is severely lacking

its not the Celebrity I have loved  and recommended to many for years

and two weeks later they are not at all helping their cause

i have many previous almost perfect Celebrity Cruises to compare to

and this didn’t even come close 

 

 

 

[grimace95120]

Been reading this topic with interest as we generally go on land vacations, where we try to choose Adults Only resorts if possible. We've only done 2 cruises in total, both on Celebrity, and have a 3rd ( 11 night Caribbean in March) coming up. We choose Celebrity as, for us, it's about as close to an Adults only All inclusive we can find ( in the price point that is). Looks like this promotion will continue through December of 2019, so this topic may be with us for a while. From a travel website ( heavily  biased advertising based on the text) , this is what I found :           "Want to get mom the ultimate gift for Mother's day? Celebrity Cruises has launched a new kids sail free promotion. If you book before April 3rd, up to 3 kids can sail absolutely free on sailings departing April through December 2019. The last time Celebrity Cruises offered this promotion was over ten years ago, a Celebrity Spokesperson reported". Makes sense that the ship was at 3500 passengers, if you could bring 3 children with you for free, that's a big savings for the family. What I really found interesting were these comments : 

What Does Celebrity Cruises offer for Kids?

"Celebrity Cruises offers Kids Camp at Sea which is their flagship youth program combining fun, recreation and enrichment. Every day on board, Celebrity cruises offer a full range of activities for kids and young adults. From playing at the pool, arcade and the Xbox room to enrichment activities in culinary, arts and science there is always something going on for the kids."                                                                                                                                                    If I didn't know X at all, I'd read this and think "Hey my kids are going to have a great time on this cruise line that seems geared towards kids and young adults". I suspect this marketing material was provided by Celebrity for these online blogs/websites to attract the families, but by the responses here the preparation and suitability of the product did not quite live up to the marketing hype. .

[andyfriend80]

We have a little one and will be doing our first cruise with him in September.  We will be very careful to ensure he doesn't spoil the experience for others.

 

I wouldn't even consider doing a cruise in the school holidays.

[grimace95120]

I for one don't think children spoil anyone's vacation. Every person, no matter the age, is entitled to enjoy the experience they paid for.There is a difference though when you have a particular group, (in this case as reported 600 of the 3000+ guests being under 18), experiencing  a marketed product that is not really aimed at them. That skews the demographic  for those regular cruisers who have come to expect a certain "vibe" on this cruise line. I feel, again, based on what I've read here, that Celebrity let the children down too. I would have loved to go on a cruise with my parents when I was younger, provided there was facilities to keep me entertained. I think though I would have rather been on a Disney ship or a Royal Caribbean where there would have been more stuff to do. I suspect many of these kids were thinking that there would have been more youth oriented activities, which in my very limited experience, Celebrity does not provide. It would be very interesting to hear their point of view on this. I suspect many would say they were bored. I also suspect that many of the parents were stressed when they got on board and came to realize that there weren't the facilities to entertain the kids. For every one of us on Cruise Critic who do hard research, there's another 100 who don't, and rely on the marketing information provided by a cruise line ( or a land resort for that matter )Compare a print add from Royal and Disney, then Celebrity. I suspect you won't see a lot of under 18s in the Celebrity marketing material. Underlying theme here is Celebrity marketed a product to a demographic, namely families with young children, through an irresistible price, but failed to deliver on their commits. Just my two cents here.

Edited August 23, 2019 by grimace95120
spelling

[Covepointcruiser]

OP should sail with other lines, believe she is also dissatisfied with Oceanarium.   Guess we will hear about her Crystal experience although others are also complaining that their standards are going down.   I remember my first cruise in 1962, so I am not new to cruising.   Some things have gotten much better, but food is not one of them.   We did not have nearly the choices you have today and there was only one restaurant for your cabin.   I was very young when we started sailing but there were no activities for children.   We did get one room where we could hang out and one had Wurlitzer so we could play songs.  We wanted to be sailors so we were given a bucket of sand and paper so we could sand the Taft rails.  We sailed over Christmas and were always forced to sing carols in the main salon.