LoveChops Posted July 22 #1 Share Posted July 22 I was recently on Celebrity Ascent, 18th-29th June, with my husband and our friends to celebrate a special anniversary and birthday. Firstly I would like to say that the overall cruise was superb. The ship is incredibly beautiful, the food was very good, the speciality restaurants were fantastic and the staff were so friendly and welcoming. One issue however really did impact our trip and left a very bitter taste (pardon the pun). All 4 of us purchased the Premium Drinks Package. The reason for this is because we enjoy Champagne and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (Villa Maria). From the very start of the cruise, despite ordering specific drinks i.e asking for Cattier Champagne or Villa Maria, we were served inferior drinks. I was given, many times, the Celebrity Sparkling Wine or Prosecco and instead of Villa Maria a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. I questioned this again and again and every time the bartenders changed the drinks. Before even taking a taste of the drink we could tell it was not correct by the colour!! Champagne and Villa Maria are more straw coloured and we could see immediately we were given the incorrect drinks, despite paying a large amount of money for the Premium Drinks Package. This happened frequently in Craft Social and the Martini Bar. On one ocassion in Craft Social, I requested a glass of Villa Maria. The bartender got a glass and went to the fridge to get the wine. After rummaging in the fridge for a while his arm came up, he took the glass and while remaining crouched at the fridge, poured the wine. I could see it was not Villa Maria. When he stood up with the wine, I said "that's not Villa Maria". He agreed, apologised and said he would go and get a new bottle. Why??? Why did he deceitfully try to pass off an inferior wine instead of pouring what I asked for and had paid for? Several times this happened - is this the instructions Celebrity are giving to their bar staff? Pour the guests the cheapest wine in the hope they won't be able to tell the difference? Time and time again it happened with Champagne and Villa Maria to the point where I spoke with the Assistant Bar Manager. He apologised, he said he was ashamed this was happening and that he would ensure the bars had sufficient stock. I explained it WAS NOT a stock issue, the correct wines were available, we were just been given cheap, inferior alternatives. He said it would not happen again and if it did to contact him. That evening we went to Cyprus for dinner. I asked for a glass of Cattier Champagne. The sommelier poured it, the champagne was flat, the sommelier agreed and went to get me a new glass. She returned and said "there is no more Cattier Champagne left, you can have Chandon or Prosecco". I was incredulous. I questioned it and she said she would go and ask her Manager if she could open a bottle of Moet & Chandon. A couple of minutes later she returned with a bottle of Cattier which she said she had just found! Strange it materialised after I complained. Later that night my husband went to the bar in Craft Social and asked for a glass of Cattier Champagne. He watched the bartender pour a glass of sparkling wine. When he brought it to him he said "that's not Champagne". The bartender said "no champagne left" again my husband queried this whereupon the bartender asked what our room number was. My husband told him, he went to the fridge and brought out a bottle of Cattier with our room number on it! We were absolutely disgusted. So, any other guest requesting Champagne was told "none left", but because we kept complaining a bottle was in the fridge with our room number on it??? I have to question the integrity of Celebrity. This was happening too frequently and too widespread across the ship for it to be a simple mistake by one or two bartenders. It feels like Celebrity are taking people's hard earned money and not giving them what they are paying for. It felt absolutely awful. We are Elite members, this was my 12th cruise with Celebrity but it left me feeling rather bitter about the whole experience. I am back on the Ascent with friends in September and Beyond in March and already I am dreading a repeat of this issue. You may read this and dismiss it as being trivial but it is not. The specific reason I pay to upgrade to the Premium Drinks Package is to get the drinks I love and therefore this is what I should receive. I sent this feedback directly to Laura Hodges and received a call from a representative from the Executive Office the same day. They expressed their disappointment that this was happening on their ships and said an email would be sent across the fleet to say it should never happen. I just wanted to make others aware that this does happen (I encountered the same thing on Silhouette in January and put the feedback in the Guest Survey). I sincerely hope I don't experience this again in September. 19 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Georgia_Peaches Posted July 22 #2 Share Posted July 22 (edited) 49 minutes ago, LoveChops said: I sent this feedback directly to Laura Hodges and received a call from a representative from the Executive Office the same day. They expressed their disappointment that this was happening on their ships and said an email would be sent across the fleet to say it should never happen. The scenario you describe is shameful on Celebrity’s part. The one bar tender who crouched behind the fridge to pour a glass didn’t want to take the time to “get a new bottle” likely because it was busy. No excuse! I can’t say if it’s about the bottom line or just laziness but here’s what I would do with that email: print it out and highlight the part from the XO that says “it should never happen again” and take it with you in September. The first time you order ____ explain the issue up front and show them your highlighted email. Order your preferred champagne/wine and tell them you don’t want any substitutes. See what happens. Give Celebrity a chance to redeem themselves and please report back! Edited July 22 by Georgia_Peaches 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ferry_Watcher Posted July 22 #3 Share Posted July 22 I had a similar experience on Holland America. It was so frustrating. I think that so few passengers request real champagne that the open bottle ends up going flat before it is used up. Bar staff and wait-severs are probably encouraged to either pour something similar, attempt to serve a mostly flat glass of champagne, or pretend that the requested champagne is unavailable. Serving real champagne by the glass may be a money loser for the ship. On the flip side, I know that not all bars or restaurants on the ship will have the 'good stuff' stocked. For me it got to the point where I wouldn't even try to order the real champagne. I did strongly mention it in my post cruise survey. Sorry this happened to you. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39august Posted July 22 #4 Share Posted July 22 I also have had to repeat a request regarding champagne vs. sparkling wine. However, once this has happened at a venue, it has not happened again at that venue. Unfortunately, it seems the bartenders will indeed "hide" bottles for those of us who insist on getting what we have paid for. That is good for us, but not for all the other pax who request that particular wine or champagne. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PTC DAWG Posted July 22 #5 Share Posted July 22 (edited) I would have complained on board to someone higher up the chain. Edited July 22 by PTC DAWG 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisetonowhere10 Posted July 22 #6 Share Posted July 22 I’m actually more surprised that there is champagne covered under the premium plan. That stinks that happened to you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillLooking4Adventure Posted July 22 #7 Share Posted July 22 The friends we cruise with have the same exact tastes. On our last cruise on the Silhouette, there was never an issue with the Villa Maria in the dinning room. The Sommlier brought the bottle to the table. However, we only found the Cattier Champagne available in the Dky lounge, of all places. I accept the fact that Celebrity cannot have every Wine, Champagne and liquor available at every bar on the ship. It would be unreasonable. I do think they should inform you when it's not available at the bar you are at and possibly find out for you where on the ship it's available. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare lv2cruisgrl Posted July 22 #8 Share Posted July 22 Wow what a story, but I am not surprised! I wonder how many other types of drinks have been made with a cheaper liquor. A good way for them to save $$$ 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbfb Posted July 22 #9 Share Posted July 22 I don’t think this is trivial at all. We pay good money for the premium drink package and you should not have to be watching to be sure what you ordered is what you received nor should you have to spend your cruise arguing with everyone in order to receive what you ordered! I would definitely have spoken to guest relations and then up the chain if it continued, but you shouldn’t have to do that! 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulh84 Posted July 22 #10 Share Posted July 22 1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said: I can’t say if it’s about the bottom line or just laziness but here’s what I would do with that email: print it out and highlight the part from the XO that says “it should never happen again” and take it with you in September. The first time you order ____ explain the issue up front and show them your highlighted email. Order your preferred champagne/wine and tell them you don’t want any substitutes. See what happens. Give Celebrity a chance to redeem themselves and please report back! I guess I have a much different demeanor than most. Don’t do this. You aren’t going to win anyone over by ordering a drink and shoving an email in face. There are much more tactful ways to handle this. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamcruzin Posted July 22 #11 Share Posted July 22 2 hours ago, LoveChops said: I was recently on Celebrity Ascent, 18th-29th June, with my husband and our friends to celebrate a special anniversary and birthday. Firstly I would like to say that the overall cruise was superb. The ship is incredibly beautiful, the food was very good, the speciality restaurants were fantastic and the staff were so friendly and welcoming. One issue however really did impact our trip and left a very bitter taste (pardon the pun). All 4 of us purchased the Premium Drinks Package. The reason for this is because we enjoy Champagne and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (Villa Maria). From the very start of the cruise, despite ordering specific drinks i.e asking for Cattier Champagne or Villa Maria, we were served inferior drinks. I was given, many times, the Celebrity Sparkling Wine or Prosecco and instead of Villa Maria a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. I questioned this again and again and every time the bartenders changed the drinks. Before even taking a taste of the drink we could tell it was not correct by the colour!! Champagne and Villa Maria are more straw coloured and we could see immediately we were given the incorrect drinks, despite paying a large amount of money for the Premium Drinks Package. This happened frequently in Craft Social and the Martini Bar. On one ocassion in Craft Social, I requested a glass of Villa Maria. The bartender got a glass and went to the fridge to get the wine. After rummaging in the fridge for a while his arm came up, he took the glass and while remaining crouched at the fridge, poured the wine. I could see it was not Villa Maria. When he stood up with the wine, I said "that's not Villa Maria". He agreed, apologised and said he would go and get a new bottle. Why??? Why did he deceitfully try to pass off an inferior wine instead of pouring what I asked for and had paid for? Several times this happened - is this the instructions Celebrity are giving to their bar staff? Pour the guests the cheapest wine in the hope they won't be able to tell the difference? Time and time again it happened with Champagne and Villa Maria to the point where I spoke with the Assistant Bar Manager. He apologised, he said he was ashamed this was happening and that he would ensure the bars had sufficient stock. I explained it WAS NOT a stock issue, the correct wines were available, we were just been given cheap, inferior alternatives. He said it would not happen again and if it did to contact him. That evening we went to Cyprus for dinner. I asked for a glass of Cattier Champagne. The sommelier poured it, the champagne was flat, the sommelier agreed and went to get me a new glass. She returned and said "there is no more Cattier Champagne left, you can have Chandon or Prosecco". I was incredulous. I questioned it and she said she would go and ask her Manager if she could open a bottle of Moet & Chandon. A couple of minutes later she returned with a bottle of Cattier which she said she had just found! Strange it materialised after I complained. Later that night my husband went to the bar in Craft Social and asked for a glass of Cattier Champagne. He watched the bartender pour a glass of sparkling wine. When he brought it to him he said "that's not Champagne". The bartender said "no champagne left" again my husband queried this whereupon the bartender asked what our room number was. My husband told him, he went to the fridge and brought out a bottle of Cattier with our room number on it! We were absolutely disgusted. So, any other guest requesting Champagne was told "none left", but because we kept complaining a bottle was in the fridge with our room number on it??? I have to question the integrity of Celebrity. This was happening too frequently and too widespread across the ship for it to be a simple mistake by one or two bartenders. It feels like Celebrity are taking people's hard earned money and not giving them what they are paying for. It felt absolutely awful. We are Elite members, this was my 12th cruise with Celebrity but it left me feeling rather bitter about the whole experience. I am back on the Ascent with friends in September and Beyond in March and already I am dreading a repeat of this issue. You may read this and dismiss it as being trivial but it is not. The specific reason I pay to upgrade to the Premium Drinks Package is to get the drinks I love and therefore this is what I should receive. I sent this feedback directly to Laura Hodges and received a call from a representative from the Executive Office the same day. They expressed their disappointment that this was happening on their ships and said an email would be sent across the fleet to say it should never happen. I just wanted to make others aware that this does happen (I encountered the same thing on Silhouette in January and put the feedback in the Guest Survey). I sincerely hope I don't experience this again in September. Although it never happened to me I always suspect that it's a possibility especially when ordering mixed drinks. I have a friend who orders a Grey Goose Bloody Mary at restaurants. How can you tell if it's Grey Goose with all of the stuff they add to make the drink. In a Vodka Martini I would know immediately. You happen to be very familiar with what you drink. Most people like myself are not when it comes to Champagne and Wine. Either I like it or I don't. I would imagine there are more like me than like you on board a ship and I'm sure they aren't pouring premium liquor in the menu drinks which is why I will name my brand when ordering a Manhattan or Martini. I only get the classic package and pay the up charge if I want a call brand. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Georgia_Peaches Posted July 22 #12 Share Posted July 22 (edited) 24 minutes ago, paulh84 said: I guess I have a much different demeanor than most. Don’t do this. You aren’t going to win anyone over by ordering a drink and shoving an email in face. There are much more tactful ways to handle this. Although I get what you mean, I'm the paying passenger and as such, I don't feel the need to win anyone over. Furthermore, I am a lot of things but tactless isn't one of them. Tactless is trying to substitute one thing for something else without notifying the passenger or at least offering the opportunity to select a different option in its place. So yes, I would be armed with the e-mail in case it was needed. Would I present it with my initial order? No, but I wouldn't hesitate to take it out if a switcheroo was pulled on me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to clarify (I mean this sincerely) as I'm sure you did not intend to be tactless in your remarks. Edited July 22 by Georgia_Peaches 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrk2cruise Posted July 22 #13 Share Posted July 22 I don't think it's that accidental. I also like a premium Champagne and am often told it's not available then when I'm persistent a bottle is found. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mahdnc Posted July 22 #14 Share Posted July 22 2 hours ago, LoveChops said: You may read this and dismiss it as being trivial but it is not. The specific reason I pay to upgrade to the Premium Drinks Package is to get the drinks I love and therefore this is what I should receive. I am sorry about your experience with this and I thank you for posting about it. The issue is not trivial and should not be occurring. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamrag Posted July 22 #15 Share Posted July 22 2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said: The scenario you describe is shameful on Celebrity’s part. The one bar tender who crouched behind the fridge to pour a glass didn’t want to take the time to “get a new bottle” likely because it was busy. No excuse! I can’t say if it’s about the bottom line or just laziness but here’s what I would do with that email: print it out and highlight the part from the XO that says “it should never happen again” and take it with you in September. The first time you order ____ explain the issue up front and show them your highlighted email. Order your preferred champagne/wine and tell them you don’t want any substitutes. See what happens. Give Celebrity a chance to redeem themselves and please report back! 25 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said: Although I get what you mean, I'm the paying passenger and as such, I don't feel the need to win anyone over. Furthermore, I am a lot of things but tactless isn't one of them. Tactless is trying to substitute one thing for something else without notifying the passenger or at least offering the opportunity to select a different option in its place. So yes, I would be armed with the e-mail in case it was needed. Would I present it with my initial order? No, but I wouldn't hesitate to take it out if a switcheroo was pulled on me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to clarify (I mean this sincerely) as I'm sure you did not intend to be tactless in your remarks. In clarifying, you have actually rolled back on your original suggestion. 😉 What you've now posted is actually a change of tack! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Georgia_Peaches Posted July 22 #16 Share Posted July 22 2 minutes ago, hamrag said: In clarifying, you have actually rolled back on your original suggestion. 😉 What you've now posted is actually a change of tack! Lol!!! 😂Well @paulh84 makes a good point about presenting an email to a bar tender....although I would do so tactfully 😎... Upon reflection, it is probably more impactful to visit the F&B manager with said e-mail instead. I'd definitely bring it though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WrittenOnYourHeart Posted July 22 #17 Share Posted July 22 2 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said: I think that so few passengers request real champagne that the open bottle ends up going flat before it is used up. They should do what Disney has done on their ships. They have the Sommelier's Bin where you don't know which you're getting, but you select Red, White, or Sparkling and there is a flat rate. You get whatever has been opened and has a glass or 2 left in it. If the value is actually less, you pay less, but if it's more, you pay the printed rate for the Bin. Sparkling almost always nets you a fabulous deal. Of course you can't be a picky wine snob with it, but I've never had a bad glass doing that. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Rick&Jeannie Posted July 22 #18 Share Posted July 22 3 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said: So yes, I would be armed with the e-mail in case it was needed. Would I present it with my initial order? No, but I wouldn't hesitate to take it out if a switcheroo was pulled on me. Agree 100% 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisetonowhere10 Posted July 22 #19 Share Posted July 22 3 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said: They should do what Disney has done on their ships. They have the Sommelier's Bin where you don't know which you're getting, but you select Red, White, or Sparkling and there is a flat rate. You get whatever has been opened and has a glass or 2 left in it. If the value is actually less, you pay less, but if it's more, you pay the printed rate for the Bin. Sparkling almost always nets you a fabulous deal. Of course you can't be a picky wine snob with it, but I've never had a bad glass doing that. That is super interesting. A fun way to try new things. Of course, if I got Chardonnay I’d gag then probably choke it down since I paid for it. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelayne Posted July 22 #20 Share Posted July 22 I have had the lower priced liquor poured on a few occasions, if I see it happening and am near the bartender I say , "oops I think you grabbed the wrong bottle by mistake". If I don't see it happening but can tell it isn't correct I don't make a big deal out of it but when the bartender comes back I'll say something like" this drink doesn't taste quite right, did you use diet tonic, diet coke etc, could you please remake it. It was a Grey Goose with tonic". that has solved the problem. Champagne is another thing. A number of bars do not have the premium Champagne stocked so it is a challenge on day 1 to find the bars that do have it. We usually do find it and have a bottle with our name on it at our go to bars. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisetonowhere10 Posted July 22 #21 Share Posted July 22 1 minute ago, jelayne said: I have had the lower priced liquor poured on a few occasions, if I see it happening and am near the bartender I say , "oops I think you grabbed the wrong bottle by mistake". If I don't see it happening but can tell it isn't correct I don't make a big deal out of it but when the bartender comes back I'll say something like" this drink doesn't taste quite right, did you use diet tonic, diet coke etc, could you please remake it. It was a Grey Goose with tonic". that has solved the problem. Champagne is another thing. A number of bars do not have the premium Champagne stocked so it is a challenge on day 1 to find the bars that do have it. We usually do find it and have a bottle with our name on it at our go to bars. This seems like a diplomatic way to handle it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanut head Posted July 22 #22 Share Posted July 22 I am glad that you posted your (bad and sad) experience. It is not right the way you were treated and hopefully (although I doubt it) you will not have another similar experience. Shameful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartantiara Posted July 22 #23 Share Posted July 22 We had the exact same experience on Millenium in February. The bar tender in Cellar Masters tried to tell me that Chandon was champagne and that was the only ‘champagne’ they had . I would not drink it and had to go elsewhere for my drink.In the MDR they also said there was no Decoy until I insisted I had been drinking it the night before, then they suddenly ‘found’ a bottle. This is happening too often to be coincidence 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettyCruiser Posted July 23 #24 Share Posted July 23 I had a similar experience on Silhouette last August, very disappointing 😟 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnMom Posted July 23 #25 Share Posted July 23 Same experience here with wine, especially Sauvignon Blanc, in 2022. I was told consistently that the premium wines I requested were out of stock. I have had better luck since then, but I am dismayed to hear that the issue is still "alive and well". I just upgraded our package for an upcoming cruise, but am now pondering whether it will be money wasted. I still enjoy Celebrity but miss the personal, friendly service that we became accustomed to over the years. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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