Celebrity not the same Long review

[G.M.T.]

8 hours ago, garardo said:

Please understand that this post is NOT negative. It is simply a set of observations made so Celebrity can improve. We did enjoy the cruise but not as much as others we have been on. Celebrity seems to be pinching pennies. 

It is my belief that all food and beverage should be served the best way to optimize flavor. Should a beer be served warm?  

Thanks for the posts. 

Yes if one is a Brit.

[LouChamp]

I  say that i to have sailed celebrity as well as many other lines. My impression is that you embarked as Thurston Howell the Third. Your requests seem over the top and while the staff did their best to accommodate you, i believe you were looking to complain.  You should charter a yacht. Perhaps then you would find your amuse bouche with no separate plates.  I would not want you sitting next to me nor my wife because you would poison the otherwise enjoyable atmosphere of a cruise which is far better than being on land.  I travel to enjoy life not looking for every mistake by hard working people.  I wish your wife well on her recovery and i wish you well on finding a perfect cruise.  Maybe don’t charter a yacht but buy one?

[billslowsky]

The bloat of the OP's manifesto will likely cause it to be delegated downward... and downward... and downward.

 

Management has no time to sift through this overwritten rant and - if they don't simply laugh it off - might someday read a summary written by an office intern.

 

Get to the point.  

[G.M.T.]

This smells of entitlement and elitismus, I've done this and I've done that so everyone should dance to my tune.

 

Forget it - all men are created equal, the ladies are way above us, the dear Wife not following His Master's Voice recommendation about the "gummi adler" (German slang for chicken).

 

I was a bit disappointed, nowhere was the hydrometer mentioned when testing the alcohol content.

 

This letter could go down in history and have a greater impact than Lincoln's Gettysburgs Address. May even start the impeachment of Celebrity's senior management rolling.

 

[Kiran]

Wasn't Celebrity supposed to be the line for people who really enjoyed good food and wine?

That was supposed to be its distinguishing characteristic.

Sympathies to the poster.

 

The food went downhill from our first celebrity cruise to our second a year later.Oh well!

The entertainment/activities went down as well.Oh well!

 

Will still cruise as it works so well for traveling with a young daughter and an elderly Mom. 

 

 

[TrulyBlonde]

We recently returned from Millennium Asia cruise. We paid for the top PH suite. We did have a few issues with the PH itself, but those were quickly attended to and management etc. really went out of their way to make certain we had a most pleasurable experience.

 

Oceania is our favorite and we have taken their top suites. Overall, X has had better butlers and except for a smaller passenger group on O,  the suite experience on X is very good and not much difference.

 

We also are not needy and never expect fine cuisine on any cruise ship. They are doing their best to cater to a very large wedding party, in our opinion. 

 

You may need to consider upping your cruising budget in order to "maybe" get the luxury experience you are hoping for. Doubtful it will happen on any cruise ship. 

 

Be grateful you are seeing the World and the ship gets you there safely. Those are our priorities. The rest is just money.

 

 

[Luckiestmanonearth]

The most accurate part of the title was “Long review”

 

sorry but I didn’t read part the first few paragraphs 

[dabear]

I would never put my carry on luggage with medications outside my cabin for pick up. Keep it yourself if it's important.

[dani negreanu]

12 hours ago, garardo said:

No bread served

 

I'm offered bread I'm not interested in eating ? Just smile, say "no, thanks"😀

"

[Caribbean Chris]

I worked in the travel industry at the luxury end and quickly learned that some guests strongly prefer and expect peace and solitude - while others crave and enjoy a lot of attention from and interaction with the staff, whether for positive or negative reasons.

 

I agree with the suggestion that the OP book a suite in the future on whatever line selected. On Celebrity, when passengers book an entry-level priced Sky Suite, they have access to a butler, a Michaels Club bartender and concierge, and a Luminae staff. In my experience, people in these positions have more time to interact with guests than those employees assigned to other work stations.

 

That said, the OP’s expectations for food and service are wildly out of step with today’s reality for what any mass market cruise line is equipped to deliver. . 

Edited November 30, 2019 by Caribbean Chris

[jean87510]

I note that you are a frequent cruiser. Is there a reason why:

 

1. Couldn't print your own luggage tags?

2. You felt the need to measure the biscotti on a prior cruise and this cruise?

3. Everything seems to take 40 minutes to resolve?

4. You felt the need to pick apart every aspect of every dining experience or basically anything which involved food and drink consumption.  

5. The staff that work on these ships work very hard and yes probably in Bangladesh or Sri Lanka they dont pay too much attention to the authenticity of the green color of the pistachio creme brulee. (Actually we dont pay much attention here in south Jersey...)

6. The need to complain about the temperature of the wines.

7. Not checking that you were on the correct excursion. Perhaps too much note taking regarding the amuse bouche presentation?

8. Not keeping jewelry and medicine with you? 

[NLH Arizona]

12 hours ago, garardo said:

 

 I then asked him to please to give our service team a few requests. No bread served, a bottle of Pellegrino water at the table, sliced lemons for the water and all of our hot food hot and cold food cold. He wrote it all down in a small note book. During this encounter, he never engaged me. It seemed as though I was a bother to him.  When we came to the table none of our requests had been carried out and there was not even a chair for my wife. It took over 10 minutes and having to ask 3 crew members to get the sparkling water we had requested and another crew member to get the sliced lemon.

 

I guess, and maybe I'm the only one, who finds it very strange to make all those personal requests for the Assistant Maître to pass on to your server.  With him being so busy on embarkation day, I certainly wouldn't bother him and just tell the server when I sat down for the first dinner.  JMHO.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I have to thank the OP.  From his post it seems Celebrity is better than I imagined.  May have to try them in the future.  I have had worse service/food than he described on Seabourn, Seadream, etc..  

[NLH Arizona]

2 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

I have to thank the OP.  From his post it seems Celebrity is better than I imagined.    

Not to mention that they are very patient with challenging passengers.

 

Celebrity's service is fantastic.  In the MDR, after the first night, I always had iced tea waiting for me and any other items that I liked nightly, maybe it is all about how you go about asking.

Edited November 30, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[baggal]

11 hours ago, garardo said:

Thanks for the post. You are right on the carry-on. The jewelry was costume and the meds were  not prescription. Still, it is a disappointment. We have been sailing Celebrity because we thought we knew what to expect. Next Cruise is with Oceania to Barcelona. 

I can tell you right now that you will be disappointed with Oceania.  Oceania's smaller ships only have open seating in their GDR (they call it the Grand Dining Room) and it will be unlikely that you'll have the same wait staff for every dinner.  They "try" to accommodate requests but its also unlikely that your strict demands will be remembered every evening by a different wait staff.

 

To get the level of service and accommodation that you're expecting  you'll probably have to step it up in terms of cruise lines - plenty to choose from - Regent, Crystal and Silversea come to mind.  Celebrity doesn't come near those in terms of INDIVIDUAL attention.

[TeeRick]

This long review was actually hilarious even if not meant to be.  Gave me a pretty good chuckle.  As did some of the comments back.

[yorky]

1 hour ago, Caribbean Chris said:

I worked in the travel industry at the luxury end and quickly learned that some guests strongly prefer and expect peace and solitude - while others crave and enjoy a lot of attention from and interaction with the staff, whether for positive or negative reasons.

 

I agree with the suggestion that the OP book a suite in the future on whatever line selected. On Celebrity, when passengers book an entry-level priced Sky Suite, they have access to a butler, a Michaels Club bartender and concierge, and a Luminae staff. In my experience, people in these positions have more time to interact with guests than those employees assigned to other work stations.

 

That said, the OP’s expectations for food and service are wildly out of step with today’s reality for what any mass market cruise line is equipped to deliver. . 

You do get a big step up in Murano though. As you say the MDR can’t deliver those expectations these days, it’s just too understaffed.

[DYKWIA]

The OP clearly knows their Lambrini from their Valpolicella

[K12Guy]

All things considered I really think that the OP should NOT book with a higher level cruise line or "Suite Class" stateroom. I really think he would find himself in pure 'Critique Heaven' on Carnival in an inside cabin. He would be swimming in steerage class and receiving goods and treatment that would be ammunition for valid complaints for years to come. And, most importantly, maybe some of those employees would be impressed by the considerable importance of such a passenger staying in steerage.

 

Better yet, maybe a passenger cabin on a freighter?

 

https://www.freighterexpeditions.com.au/how-to-book

 

It's been a fun thread to watch and read. Honestly.

 

💥😎

[mayleeman]

I was just glad to find out that even a super-cultured food expert was as offended as I am that teaspoons in the buffet are at the coffee station rather than wherever the heck the food is. This was the only thing I found to complain about on our past 3 cruises, but it just ruined all of them.

 

I am just disappointed that losing his notes must have been why I didn't get a list I could print out of the 10 to 15 people to whom I could voice my detailed complaint and my suggestions for improvements. From the dishwashers to the bus staff to the food and beverage manager to the Captain and on up to Celebrity's overall operations manager, each has numerous opportunites that if taken, could remove my dire anxieties for my upcoming cruises.

 

OP: More seriously, please know that no one is taking issue with your complaints about the delays in service, or the improper temperature of any food served. Had you brought those up as the most important in your initial post, I am certain people would have posted a chorus of agreement. 

[NMTraveller]

I agree with the OP on most of his MDR comments.  We have only dined in the MDR evenings about 3 times.  But the staff is overtasked and the service can be slow at times.  We purchase the specialty dining package and find that the servers have more time to spend with our table and it is a more intimate experience.

 

It would be a welcome change if Celebrity were not to overtask their servers in the MDR.  

 

I think that most of the cruise lines overtask their servers in the MDR.  That is why we always choose specialty dining.

 

With the OP being in the business he is going to notice more issues than we ever would.  My wife can point out who is wearing a wig since she is in the business.

 

I can't recall a time when the servers in the MDR werent overtasked.

 

I suppose since my expectations for the MDR are lower I am not disappointed.  It sounds like the OPs expectations for the MDR are high.  I am not surprised that he is disappointed.

 

My recommendation would be to purchase the specialty dining package and never look back.  I also think that the specialty restaurants get some of the better servers.

 

We once were on a ship where they had a food critic that wrote for one of the major big city newspapers.  This guy noticed everything and would pass it on to the wait staff.  He noticed many items that I would have never noticed.

 

I have no doubts that Celebrity or the other cruise lines could provide more staffing for a better MDR experience if the they wanted to.

 

 

Edited November 30, 2019 by NMTraveller

[happy cruzer]

Wait staff likes more tables; equals more grats.  If you want VERY special requests and attention, the MDR is not the place.  Pay for specialty dining, special dining room etc. for special needs/request. 

 

Times change; the average diner in the MDR likes to get in and out in around 1 hr....  Many complaints that the MDR takes too long.

 

 

[misterkevin]

I'm surprised that you did have so many things to appreciate about your experience on Celebrity: 

• excellent cabin attendants who fix virtually anything from your shirt button to your daily Riedel stemware to the beds, head, and telephone.
• accommodating managers who meet with you to address your concerns as you discover them
• a nearly universal desire to please across the spectrum of service

What also surprised me was how specific your requests around dining were given that you were just in a standard veranda 2C. While I don't have 20 years of experience with Celebrity to see how these requests may have been more completely met in the past, my experience cruising in Aqua class and suites tells me that your needs would be much better addressed by paying more in the current Celebrity environment. You sound reasonable, but also demanding. Unfortunately, the platform in a standard veranda cabin isn't designed to meet your needs .

[Bob & Sandy]

We are on Eclipse right now. It is fine (for us?), but RCCL/Celebrity/Aramara could improve a few things. First, in this day and age, single serving plastic utensils (ice cream, condiment cups, etc.), should be reusable items! What is wrong with replacing these items with teaspoons - especially for stir sticks. Second, it was US thanksgiving and although they did have turkey & the rest in the buffet and MDR (carved, no less!), no pumpkin pie to be had?

I could see that on MSC or P&O, but this is a US company ...

[Mark_T]

The MDR is a banquet hall served from an industrial kitchen, and yet most people still manage to be positive about the quality of the food.

 

The problem here was trying to micro-manage the experience at one table to the extent of giving a list of riders to the staff and expecting to be able to manage wine pairings in sync with each plate...

 

To be honest I'd also consider it borderline rude to tell the staff that you expect 'hot food to be hot, and cold to be cold' before you've even had a negative experience, it comes across as condescending. Perfectly OK to have that conversation after the food delivery warrants it, but even then you have to allow some latitude for the service environment in the MDR.