What does Celebrity do for special occasions?

[stah1mr]

A piece of cake on a ship with free food seems a waste and a glass of bubbly with a drink package purchased also little value.  🙂  Not a big deal.  I really don't care but was just curious.  They just asked us when we booked.

[Chanbre]

On the Silhouette a couple of years ago I was shown, at Guest Services, a book with a range of special cakes, various flower arrangements, bottles of Champagne, and room decorations. You can pay a few dollars and get something simple but different from the normal and included options. You can pay a lot of dollars and get even more.

 

I got a couple of items for my wife's birthday. Whilst she enjoyed them she thought they were expensive. We decided to go for a speciality restaurant as something special for our next cruise.

[stah1mr]

Thanks!  So you had to pay for something special for your wife?  They didn't do anything for you for free?

[phoenix_dream]

A couple years ago we were sailing on Eclipse in Blu and my husband advised Celebrity ahead of time that we were celebrating an anniversary, and when.  On the date, our waiter showed up at our table with a little chocolate cake and they gathered around to sing "Happy Birthday" to me!  Needless to say, DH was not pleased.  Maybe they are better about honeymoons but for anniversaries don't expect a lot!  We also advised our Maître d' and waiter (also in Blu, on another ship) that the cruise we were on was our 50th with Celebrity.  Thought at the very least we'd maybe get that crummy little cake again.  Nothing.  Not even a congratulations when we told them.  Nothing from the Captains Club hostess either.  Oh well.  Didn't ruin our cruise for sure but a bit disappointing.  Some of this stuff is so very easy to do and makes a big difference to people.  When us 'old folks' complain about things not being the way they used to be this is a good example.  Does it ruin a cruise?  Of course not.  Does it make the passenger feel less special than in years past?  You bet.

[stah1mr]

Geez, 50 cruises should get you a free cruise.  They might put you in the engine room, but free no less.  Well, it's our anniversary so I guess I will hold out for that free cake.  🙂  

[chemmo]

I think the snag is so many of us try to book cruises to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries (especially the meaningful ones)...

 

Once on board mention to your waiter and M’D on boarding that you are celebrating something special and remind them quietly on the evening and you will get your cake and a birthday song (hopefully only if appropriate)...

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

I let our shore side concierge know that we were celebrating a wedding anniversary on an upcoming cruise when we were asked about our cabin and reservation preferences.  I was told that she would alert the M'D at Murano so that something special could be arranged.  For us, the day will be special enough with or without a cake or a song...but I do understand the sentiment and think it can be a nice touch.  We'll see what happens...our cruise is about 3 weeks out... 

[hun]

We just got off a western med cruise and had noted that we were celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary. We got a postcard under the door that said “Happy Anniversary”....🤷🏼‍♀️ 

Edited October 31, 2019 by hun

[gerelmx]

We celebrated our 34th anniversary aboard the Silhouette on March 20, 2019, we did not hire any package, we only registered the anniversary date in our reservation, we received the decoration at the door, a bottled Champagne in our room, The Swans in our bed and the cake at dinner

 

 

 

[Marelaine]

Sometimes they do nothing.
On our last cruise, they brought us a beautiful little chocolate anniversary cake. Our steward delivered a bottle of 'champagne' to our cabin along with a card. I thought it was lovely. 
If you want to be sure that your wife receives something, though, you should make arrangements for a gift. Don't depend on Celebrity and then be disappointed.

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

3 hours ago, chemmo said:

I think the snag is so many of us try to book cruises to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries (especially the meaningful ones)...

 

 

 

 

Bingo! And not all of those coincide with the actual date but are still “celebrations of” vacations. When it seems like everyone is doing it (either being there on the day or marking an earlier or later cruise as a celebration of it), it can become tedious. Especially the singing in the dining room.

 

A couple of years ago I took my parents on a cruise on another line. One night there must have been 12 different celebrations in the MDR at least. Our servers were constantly running between checking on us and having to sing. Our main server even jokingly asked us if we wanted to celebrate anything while everyone else seemed to be. We understood and did not have anywhere to be, so the delayed dessert was not a huge issue - but so many definitely can affect service for everyone else. Especially when as many servers as possible are expected by management to participate when a guest is sung to.

 

(And that is not even counting the people who will claim an event to try and get something special - one of the main reasons a lot of land-based restaurants have stopped the practice or gone to a “club” system where you have to subscribe, show the email, and you only have a limited time (sometimes the day of only) to use the present.)

Edited November 1, 2019 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[marshabear]

We just returned from a TA cruise on the Infinity..celebrating our 30th anniversary, which was noted on our reservation....received NOTHING! Also,  our TA had paid for something to be delivered to our room but we did not receive that either!

Now, this did not bother us really, but felt bad when the TA mentioned she had ordered something and asked if we got it and enjoyed it....

The trip was still the best one yet!  LOVE Celebrity!

 

 

Marsha

[DebInAntigua]

We were also disappointed by Celebrity ignoring an important wedding anniversary on Equinox last year. No acknowledgement at all even though the reps we talked to always mentioned it when servicing the booking. I agree, don’t count on anything and be pleasantly surprised if they make a gesture onboard. 

[Wolf 8]

On 10/31/2019 at 8:11 PM, gerelmx said:

We celebrated our 34th anniversary aboard the Silhouette on March 20, 2019, we did not hire any package, we only registered the anniversary date in our reservation, we received the decoration at the door, a bottled Champagne in our room, The Swans in our bed and the cake at dinner

 

 

 

 

Your comment inspired me to call Celebrity just now and let them know that we're celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary on our 12/13/19 Silhouette sailing.  When we booked they had offered to do something but we're pretty quiet people and I had declined the offer.  Seeing those swans and knowing how much my  wife would enjoy that changed my mind.

 

To me it's not the dollar cost of the items that matters, it's the value of the their gesture.

[scrapcreator]

We celebrated my husband’s 65th birthday on the Millennium in June. We booked dinner in the Tuscan Grill. The wonderful staff sang and presented him with a cake. Our fabulous room attendant made a special towel cake and he received a couple of cards from staff. All a very nice surprise.

 

[royalcruz]

Usually they do nothing unless you mention it to someone wherever you are dining that night. Then you get a little cake. We cruise every year for our anniversary on one of 3 cruiselines, always note it on the reservation, and have never received champagne. A couple of times I've had a balloon outside the door for a birthday on RC. 

[bluehengal]

We got married at the first port on a 9 night cruise.   When we got back on board,  the security officer asked if Celebrity knew about our wedding.  I told him it was noted in our booking,  but doubt they really knew.  He said, "They do know" and wrote down our cabin number.   Later that day, our keys wouldn't work.  We went to GS and she gave us new cards.  Security had upgraded us to the premium drink package!  Then, our waiter brought us a cake for dessert that said Happy Wedding.   On the last night, he brought another one that said Happy Honeymoon.   So sweet!

[davekathy]

On 10/30/2019 at 3:26 PM, stah1mr said:

A piece of cake on a ship with free food seems a waste and a glass of bubbly with a drink package purchased also little value.  🙂  Not a big deal.  I really don't care but was just curious.  They just asked us when we booked.

Isn't more about the thought than the gift? 

[awhfy]

We just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary onboard Eclipse from Vancouver to Hawaii. We had indicated in the planner that it was our anniversary. We boarded in Vancouver & the security man said welcome aboard, hope you enjoy your anniversary!  We had balloons, chocolate strawberries & a sign in our room from the Concierge, Johnna. On the actual day we received a nice bottle of champagne from Dan the Hotel Director & flowers & a bottle of red wine from the Chief Housekeeper. We ate in Murano on our anniversary, that yummy chocolate cake was served (after the strawberry bombe crepe & Grand Marnier soufflé. The next night in MDR our fabulous waiter & assistant, Aartee & Julianna brought us another yummy cake & our sommelier, Uliana kept serving me yummy champagne. It was a fabulous celebration.  Much more than we expected & we are very grateful 

Edited November 2, 2019 by awhfy

[Phxazzcruisers]

On our last cruise they decorated our Suite and gave us a coupe bottles of wine.  It was a very nice surprise. and a birthday cake after dinner.

 

[Mike981]

We are celebrating our 30th, is there a best practice to let X know? I let my TA know, but it seems to be hit or miss.

[gerelmx]

14 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

We are celebrating our 30th, is there a best practice to let X know? I let my TA know, but it seems to be hit or miss.

 

Just register or ask your TA to do it (your anniversary or Birthday, etc): In manage my booking ADD-ONS Celebrations

[Bretty]

I’m doing my first cruise with X next year, (Silhouette, Northern Europe), and my 50th birthday is during the trip. I wasn’t asked about celebrations by the PCC when I booked, but when taking details, including date of birth, she realised it was going to be my birthday, and offered comped dinner for 2 in any specialty restaurant of my choice.

 

I didn’t ask for it and didn’t expect it but it was a nice gesture. The comped dinner doesn’t show on my reservation for me, but I’m told it does show to staff and I have an email confirming it, and just need to book when on board. I’m thinking it’s gonna be Murano. I’m not expecting anything else, so if there is anything else then great, equally so if not.

[JOVERNITE]

We sail each year on our anniversary and it is noted in our reservation. We've never gotten any recognition but this year our cabin was decorated with rose petals on the bed and towel swans intertwined. We were surprised and thrilled. A sweet gesture.

[helen haywood]

I think the moral to this story is if you want something special done for your birthday/anniversary...you should do it yourself.  That way you can’t be disappointed.