Georgia Peaches heads to The Last Frontier…Seeking Answers…Will She Love Alaska? Live-May 31-June 7th…Teetering on The Edge

[Georgia_Peaches]

Our stateroom was very comfortable. We were only aware of the magic carpet moving past our room one time. Pretty interesting to watch!

 

We found that having the side view window facing aft was an added little bonus when viewing all the wonder of Glacier Bay and I’m glad we picked this room!  Thank you @jelayne for the recommendation all those months ago!

 

And though we liked the room very much I have a few nitpicks to point out. First, the closet/bed arrangement is very tight. Fortunately, we didn’t spend a lot of time in this area but it could get tiresome on longer cruise itineraries. Second, I’m not a fan of the Bigelow bath products. The shower gel doesn’t lather well and there isn’t much of a scent either. I bring my own hair products so can’t speak to the ones provided. And finally, the hair dryer is truly awful. I knew this going in but came equipped with a rubber band to wrap around the handle to hold in the button while in use. Had I not already packed everything but the kitchen sink, I would have brought my own. 

 

And now a bit of a rant…

 

We love Celebrity for the wonderful service and this cruise has been no exception. We’ve had a great cabin steward!  He was extremely efficient and personable.. never intrusive. Our butler was equally exceptional, though we didn’t use the service for more than the delivery of coffee and pastry on a few of the mornings. Our service staff in Luminae were also excellent. Everyone we encountered went the extra mile to ensure we were taken care of all week!  
BUT starting on Wednesday we began to get peppered with reminders about the survey at the end of the cruise. “10 10 10…don’t forget to give us a 10.” “Our salaries depend on getting a 10.”  “You can make comments but we need a 10. Nine or eight is no good…”. We got this from our Luminae team and butler every time we saw them. In fact, our butler called us in our stateroom on Thursday while we were napping to give us the same pitch as the day before! Is that a 10? The Luminae hostess called after us as we were leaving, “ Have a good night and don’t forget 10-10-10”. Each time we gave assurances that we understood. 
But here’s the thing… if everything is a 10, then there’s no room for improvement. And continuous quality improvement is key to any business in my opinion. Though I would not ding our steward for missing the open bottle of water on our counter from the previous cruise or the cocktail server in the Retreat lounge for bringing me a bourbon and peaches when I’d requested a spicy passion, or our sommelier for trying to up charge for wine that’s within the package in other venues on the ship…these things are not deal breakers… but no experience is a perfect 10. 
 

I don’t blame any of the crew. Celebrity corporate is responsible for creating a culture among its employees that suggests that any rating less than a 10 is unacceptable. This breeds fear for job security among service employees that manifests itself in perpetual pestering of passengers for a score of 10 on the survey. The pressure for a 10 on the survey was more intense on this cruise than we’d ever experienced in the past. How does one grow in their personal craft or as a company at large if everything is already perfect?  And if everything is a 10 then isn’t it really amounting to just an average experience overall?

 

I plan to take care of the crew who bent over backwards for us this week but will let Celebrity know what I think of the culture they’ve created for their employees. 
 

End of rant…

 

Final thoughts to follow…

[Pushka]

I don’t think I’d ever give a 10. 10 implies there is absolutely nothing left to improve. And that is never the case. 

[mac_tlc]

I agree with your view on the surveys. It is getting ridiculous. There is always room for improvement and a nine should not be viewed as “bad”.

 

And I would NEVER ding my waiter for bringing a bourbon and peaches 😜😜.

 

Thank you for your review. I plan on doing a LIVE when we are onboard in August. Safe travels home…

 

mac_tlc

[RK-NC]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Pulling into Victoria at 4:30 and then being cleared to get off an hour later really made for another sea day with limited time to do much of anything in the actual port. Weather in Victoria was beautiful

 

Just catching up here, enjoying your photos and remembering our Alaska cruise. Thanks for sharing! I was hoping you would have time to go to the gardens in Victoria. Our cruise didn't go there but we spent a few days in Vancouver pre-cruise and the gardens at Stanley Park were beautiful too. 

[RK-NC]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

If I hadn’t been stuffed from eating my way through the week, I would have been sad with the small dollop of potato and green bean that came with the meal. 

 

Is that ONE green bean??

 

 

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I’m pretty sure this chocolate tart is the same as the ones they offer in Al Baccio

 

I think so too and that's embarrassing. What are the bits of green on top? @SerraG had a dessert with something that looked like dill sprigs thrown on top.

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

16 minutes ago, RK-NC said:

Is that ONE green bean??

There was another green bean under the steak. So a green bean for each side of my mouth lol 😂. 

[RK-NC]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

The shower gel doesn’t lather well and there isn’t much of a scent either.

 

This is interesting and makes me wonder if they always fill those containers with the correct product. On Beyond, what we had was very lathery and scented. I know the pump bottles are more environmental but I really don't care for them. I've had hotel pumps that were blocked/didn't pump and one time, hair conditioner in the shampoo pump. It's annoying but I now pack my own everything (including hairdryer) to avoid the hassle. 

 

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

In fact, our butler called us in our stateroom on Thursday while we were napping to give us the same pitch as the day before! Is that a 10?

 

NO!

 

Safe travels home!

 

[cruzzzinma]

19 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Not for dinner. It was offered one day at lunch. 

The child size filet mignon used to be on the children’s menu and was available any time.

[C-Dragons]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Our stateroom was very comfortable. We were only aware of the magic carpet moving past our room one time. Pretty interesting to watch!

 

 

And now a bit of a rant…

 

We love Celebrity for the wonderful service and this cruise has been no exception. We’ve had a great cabin steward!  He was extremely efficient and personable.. never intrusive. Our butler was equally exceptional, though we didn’t use the service for more than the delivery of coffee and pastry on a few of the mornings. Our service staff in Luminae were also excellent. Everyone we encountered went the extra mile to ensure we were taken care of all week!  
BUT starting on Wednesday we began to get peppered with reminders about the survey at the end of the cruise. “10 10 10…don’t forget to give us a 10.” “Our salaries depend on getting a 10.”  “You can make comments but we need a 10. Nine or eight is no good…”. We got this from our Luminae team and butler every time we saw them. In fact, our butler called us in our stateroom on Thursday while we were napping to give us the same pitch as the day before
 

Wow, that would really be crossing the line, IMO.

It's too bad that X is fueling this behavior from their wonderful employees.

[George C]

13 hours ago, dlh015 said:

BTW @Georgia_Peaches, I completely concur with your opinions re Luminae. Frankly, I much preferred eating lunch there as versus dinner.  

I agree , love the lobster roll on day 1 for lunch , had two in march wish they had that daily. 

[Lena11033]

3 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I plan to take care of the crew who bent over backwards for us this week but will let Celebrity know what I think of the culture they’ve created for their employees. 

 

Honestly the culture is a bad one. Sure you want to do good at your job but as you said if everything is a 10 nothing needs improving. Really what needs the biggest improvement is upper management and how they are handling things.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I agree with this requesting 10s nonsense and anyone who mentions it to me automatically gets no higher than a 9.  I am perfectly capable of making my own decision.  And if my butler called while I was taking a nap, that would have been the end of a good relationship.  There's a reason that Deep Sleep sign is on my door.

 

[Lastdance]

44 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

 

Honestly the culture is a bad one. Sure you want to do good at your job but as you said if everything is a 10 nothing needs improving. Really what needs the biggest improvement is upper management and how they are handling things.

This is exactly where this 10, 10, 10 culture is originating!  Imagine working at a job where this is held over your head, making you crazy, not to mention causing continual stress...😩

[jcpc]

@Georgia_Peaches It looks like you had a great cruise and enjoyed Alaska.  Question:  Would you cruise to Alaska again or was it a "one and done" in your mind.

 

Here's my problem with the "speech" from the crew regarding giving 10's.  If you are a frequent Celebrity cruiser, an Elite, Elite Plus, or Zenith, the crew knows you are a frequent cruiser and they know that "you know the drill".  Our waiter on our May cruise was perfect -- he actually said on the second to last night that he knew we sailed with Celebrity a lot and he was not going to talk to us about the survey.  And our cabin attendant never mentioned the survey at all (obviously she knew we were Zenith).  I was thankful for that.  And if anyone starts to give me "the speech" I stop them dead in their tracks and say politely that there's no need to give us the talk about the survey because we've cruised Celebrity a lot and know they want 10s..

[Stem to Stern]

We have heard the please give us a perfect score spiel on more than one occasion in the past, but thinking back to our last two cruises, Summit in December 2023 and Silhouette in April 2024, I do not recall any of that.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Welp, we’ve made it to our departure lounge and as if I haven’t already indulged enough, DH and I are toasting to another successful vacation. 
 

@jcpc asked if this trip was a one and done for us. DH and I agree that it is in fact, a one and done!  There’s nothing that we didn’t enjoy…err except the Seattle traffic and airport. Seeing the beauty of Alaska was on our bucket list and this experience was amazing. Additionally, we got to reconnect with cruise friends from days gone by as well as make new friends along the way. I also really enjoyed the cool weather aspect of this cruise. To that end, I see a cruise to the Norwegian fjords in our future!

 

One con for us was the travel time and associated jet lag …which we will get with any itin involving multiple time zones. Another con was the Seattle itin itself. We didn’t care for the late arrival/departure to/from Victoria. This made our final night feel a little stale since the casino didn’t reopen. But it wasn’t just the casino…the cruise just felt over, even though it wasn’t quite finished. 

 

Im glad we saw Alaska. I know it was just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak of all things Alaska but we experienced enough to appreciate the essence and her beauty. 
 

Protips:

1.  I strongly recommend an afternoon flight departure time if you plan on flying home on debarkation day. The shuttle line up was a zoo and the traffic getting into the airport drop off was nothing short of a Charlie Foxtrot amounting to an hour ride, curb to curb!

2.  Can’t recommend enough the free port luggage valet service. Yesterday afternoon our boarding passes and luggage tags were waiting in our room. We were already checked in got our flight and once at the airport, we went directly to the security line. You can sign up for this free service on line. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it worked and not having to deal with luggage until we get to our home airport is such a luxury. 
3.  If you play in the casino make sure to tap your room key on the machine. By night 6 we had a voucher for a “free” veranda room cruise and the dates/ship for our November cruise was on the list. I’m getting my TA on this when we get home. I asked how many points we had to play in order to qualify and the casino host said player cards are drawn at random based not on how much one plays but rather, their frequency. 
 

Thank you all for following along on our visit to the last frontier!  
 

 

Edited June 7 by Georgia_Peaches

[hcat]

thanks for a great review..

 

we no longer do the surveys b/c they are self serving and do not allow for honest  feedback like they used to!

 

what's up next on your cruise list?

[Georgia_Peaches]

4 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

Wow, that would really be crossing the line, IMO.

It's too bad that X is fueling this behavior from their wonderful employees.

Yes, completely agree!  At this point I’m inclined to agree with @hcat and just not complete the survey. Our server in Luminae gave us the spiel on final time at breakfast this morning. I’m like…dude, you just said this to me less than 12 hours ago!  I didn’t say that in words but DH told me to fix my face so…anyway, it’s too much. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

32 minutes ago, hcat said:

thanks for a great review..

 

we no longer do the surveys b/c they are self serving and do not allow for honest  feedback like they used to!

 

what's up next on your cruise list?

Well we have a southern Caribbean on the books on Beyond in November for our 20th wedding anniversary. It’s 10 nights and frankly, I’m not sure my waistline can handle it 😳. 

[ch175]

Thank you! This was a 10/10, and you didn’t even have to ask for it.

[boxkite]

Georgia_Peaches, thanks for the great live review of your cruise!

 

We too did an Celebrity Alaska cruise two Summers ago. Would we go again?

Me yes, my DW no, so no future Alaska cruises in the cards at this time.

 

Enjoy your next cruise I believe in July?

[Lastdance]

GP...Georgia_Peaches,

Were any of your free veranda cruises outside the Caribbean?  Asking for a friend🤩!

 

I understand the one and done.  We did the cruise tour; it was okay, but I am not a big bus tour person and was less than excited about waiting for the same individuals who could never make it back on time, or even a few minutes late.  Totally my fault for booking this, as I knew better!

Edited June 7 by Lastdance

[abbydancer2003]

7 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

 

 

And now a bit of a rant…

 

We love Celebrity for the wonderful service and this cruise has been no exception. We’ve had a great cabin steward!  He was extremely efficient and personable.. never intrusive. Our butler was equally exceptional, though we didn’t use the service for more than the delivery of coffee and pastry on a few of the mornings. Our service staff in Luminae were also excellent. Everyone we encountered went the extra mile to ensure we were taken care of all week!  
BUT starting on Wednesday we began to get peppered with reminders about the survey at the end of the cruise. “10 10 10…don’t forget to give us a 10.” “Our salaries depend on getting a 10.”  “You can make comments but we need a 10. Nine or eight is no good…”. We got this from our Luminae team and butler every time we saw them. In fact, our butler called us in our stateroom on Thursday while we were napping to give us the same pitch as the day before! Is that a 10? The Luminae hostess called after us as we were leaving, “ Have a good night and don’t forget 10-10-10”. Each time we gave assurances that we understood. 
But here’s the thing… if everything is a 10, then there’s no room for improvement. And continuous quality improvement is key to any business in my opinion. Though I would not ding our steward for missing the open bottle of water on our counter from the previous cruise or the cocktail server in the Retreat lounge for bringing me a bourbon and peaches when I’d requested a spicy passion, or our sommelier for trying to up charge for wine that’s within the package in other venues on the ship…these things are not deal breakers… but no experience is a perfect 10. 
 

I don’t blame any of the crew. Celebrity corporate is responsible for creating a culture among its employees that suggests that any rating less than a 10 is unacceptable. This breeds fear for job security among service employees that manifests itself in perpetual pestering of passengers for a score of 10 on the survey. The pressure for a 10 on the survey was more intense on this cruise than we’d ever experienced in the past. How does one grow in their personal craft or as a company at large if everything is already perfect?  And if everything is a 10 then isn’t it really amounting to just an average experience overall?

 

I plan to take care of the crew who bent over backwards for us this week but will let Celebrity know what I think of the culture they’ve created for their employees. 
 

End of rant…

 

Final thoughts to follow…

 

The first time a staff member mentions it, I tell them they have a 10, but going forward, every time they ask again, it will drop by 1.  That seems to work.

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 minutes ago, boxkite said:

Enjoy your next cruise I believe in July?

Thank you for following… and Yes!!  I will be taking my mother on Reflection for a 4 night getaway. We used to go for longer but 4 nights seems to be enough for her these days. It will be her first Celebrity cruise. I’m hoping to wow her so that she can convince my dad to join us in the future. He’s a Princess loyalist…well, he was. Now he says he’s sworn off cruising. I’d like to get him back on that horse!!  So there’s a lot riding on this July cruise…no pressure, Celebrity! 😊

[Georgia_Peaches]

5 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

GP,

Were any of your free veranda cruises outside the Caribbean?  Asking for a friend🤩!

 

I understand the one and done.  We did the cruise tour; it was okay, but I am not a big bus tour person and was less than excited about waiting for the same individuals who could never make it back on time, or even a few minutes late.  Totally my fault for booking this, as I knew better!

Yes!  Here’s a screenshot of the options:

the dates to select from run from June/24 thru Jan/25. Various ships from all three classes. It looks like some of the European itins are an OV category instead of veranda.