CELEBRITY - Deliver A Consistent, Excellent Product Please

[heywood]

I wonder what would the reaction be if cruises were advertised as 'no people with high blood pressure' or 'no cruisers from Mexico' or any other 'group' who share a common bond e.g. being under 12 years old.
As someone says it is a matter of responsibilities not just rights and those children should be supervised by parents or guardians - it is not entirely the children who are guilty of ruining the holiday.
Celebrity has the responsibility to ensure the best comfort and service for its passengers and if there is a real concern to sort that out. However, I do feel, that sometimes it's just that we are disturbed because people don't behave as WE would like them to.
I am still hoping that my first cruise in a couple of weeks will be a 'dream' holiday with interesting companions from around the globe. Watch this space.

[dkjretired]

I certainly understand that this cruise was advertised as no children but to ask for compensation is ridiculous and beyond anything reasonable.

Don

[rogerdm]

[quote name='Danno']
"free range kids" :D ...I love it!! Can I use that???[/QUOTE]


Great, well thought out post Nerd! I think you have just added more initials for descriptions: FRK

[starsjohn]

After 22 cruises with Celebrity, we have found the quality of the trips up a notch this year in Alaska on the Summit. I felt totally spoiled as did my 86 year old mom.

This last trip was the same time as the ill-fated Mercury trip with the large Indian group. The anarchy that prevailed on-board Mercury came ashore to spread through the shops in Ketchikan. If I had been a shop owner, I would have written off the day and shut the shop. I hope Celebrity will think twice about booking to this group again.

Each cruise is going to take on the character of the demographics of the pax. I feel that the cruise lines are at the mercy of this and little can be done other than maybe a group talk in the show room by the captain and security people.

John

[yapthat]

It's really annoying to be reading the complaints of you, adults. You think just because you're older you deserve some sort of special treatment from children. We all are paying customers and even children, yes children, are entitled to enjoy the cruise. We are not there to pull up a chair for you or step out of the way when you walk by. I'm obliged to be speaking on behalf of children because I have experienced the abuse from the older people... And now that I am 18 years old, I have witnessed it among younger children, including my siblings, aboard almost every ship I've cruised. I have numerous examples. Pick a number.

ABoatNerd, you're just going to have to one day accept the fact that people are rude. It's that simple. Whether they're in a special group or not, they're going to act the way they are. Young or old, they're rude. Not everyone is going to follow Miss Manners. I do my best to, but I know that a lot of older people still need to crack that book open once in a while. I agree, the snobbiness to the staff is ridiculous, as well as to the fellow passengers. But, if you're worried about "unsupervised and large number of children", why not book an "Adult cruise"? If you're worried about "chair hogging", why don't you manage your time and get to the lounge earlier if you would like a chair? You obviously don't have to worry about any other person so you probably wouldn't fathom the convenience of a walkie talkie when you're traveling with a family. As for the informality of dress... I've noticed that people dress the way they want. Some people don't know how to dress up, and some people do. You also have to keep in mind about where they are from. ...Why do you even care? Why do you even worry about other people? Don't make that an issue to annoy you on a cruise. Cruising is about having a good time and being with your family.

Is it really going to kill you if you see a large group of kids walking around?
Is it going to kill you if you are dressed in a formal gown and the people next door are in a blouse and slacks?
Is the noise of the walkie talkies that annoying that it will impair your hearing?
Sometimes you have to sacrifice. Not everyone can live up to your expectations, whether on a cruise or in life.

Peace,
yapthatass

--------------
Viking Serenade 7/96
Elation 7/98
Elation 7/99
Elation 7/00
Rotterdam 7/01
Elation 7/01
Constellation 7/02
Monarch of the Seas 12/02
Vision of the Seas 11/03
Pride 12/03
Constellation 6/04
QM2 12/04

[drk]

Well I knew eventually I'd get flamed for something. Thanks to the posters who came to my aide and explained that this was in fact advertised/promoted in all of celebrities literature as a romantic "escape" with no one under 21 allowed on board and we happened to have the misfortune to have been in the same dining section with them. We left our children at home. That celebrity let some children "slip through the cracks" with all the security processes to get on board is rather remarkable. They could have handled it and chose not to.

Now I understand that I ruffled some feathers by saying that I asked for some "compensation". I feel that when a business has failed to deliver what they have promised and what you have paid for you have every right to ask for and receive some form of compensation. This is no different than sending back a meal at a restaurant or sending something back to a manufacturer that is faulty in some way. I don't expect anything significant nor did I ask for anything significant...however it would be good business for Celebrity to respond to my inquiry,explain what happened and offer me a small discount on a future cruise or something similar to "make it right".

[Desertbelle]

drk, how exactly did these children offend you or render your cruise a failure? Is the mere sight of a child offensive? Did these 2 children make it unromantic for you? We sailed on a ship with 30 children on it last December and I seldom saw any of them, I can't imagine how you saw 2 enough to bother you.

Also, have you thought for even a moment how the family with the 2 children felt? It would seem obvious to me it was a mistake. Should they have been turned away at the pier? Should this family of 4 (or more if there were other family members) been made to skip the cruise, buy hotel rooms and new airfares? Is your need for no children more important than those of this family who found themselves on the wrong cruise? If anyone has a beef here it's this family...someone made a big mistake here.

I think you have a very weak case for compensation. If the worse thing that happened on your cruise was that 2 children found their way onboard, then you are extremely fortunate!

I support the need of adult only cruises, and I hope, if there is a real market for them, that some cruise line picks up on this and starts to offer them.

[NiniB]

[color=darkorchid]DRK, I agree totally with Desert, what are you to be compensated FOR?? You went on your cruise , ate, drank, slept,, ECT... You got what you paid for, even though there may have been 2 children there, so what.... [/color]
[color=#9932cc][/color]
[font=Arial Black][color=red]I think I remember a fly on the deck of my last cruise....ooh ooh I want to be compensated!! :D [/color][/font]

[cruising with marti]

[b]margie[/b]

[b]Well said, end of story. I don't want to cruise with old people, what is a person too do?:D [/b]


[b]Phil[/b]

[drk]

It's time to get a grip people!! I have made 2 posts on this subject. Never did I say that the cruise was a failure; never did I say anything derogatory about children; never did I say that I was asking for anything significant. My cruise documents from Celebrity say on page 3 "Guests under the age of 21 will not be allowed to board the vessel." The main point of my posts was in the spirit of supporting the original posters topic of holding the cruiselines to the standards of their advertisements. I thought this was a small example of that. I apologize to anyone I may have inadvertently offended. I have always used these boards as an information exchange and found them most helpful. I have tried to provide others with helpful hints that I have learned and will continue to do so. Let us all sail on in peace.

[brigittetom]

DRK, Just because you post an informative post does not mean people will actually read into it what you have so accurately described. Go figure. :confused: I too would have thought that would be an adult only cruise.

Yap, I don't remember ever on any of the the boards anyone implying that children should get out of the way when the elders walk by or heaven forbid, ask any children to pull out a chair for the elders. I think you might just be overstating your point. As far as chairhogging, why should anyone have to get to the pool early to sit in a lounger because people place books and whatever to save seats at 6AM and then go back to their cabins to go back to sleep??? Please don't overstate your opinion about children onboard. Children onboard can go all the way to 18 years old. Been there, done that. Rude 18, 16, year olds very badly dressed traveling with their families, that took over the lounge before dinner. It wasn't even about the bad dress, it was the bad language. I don't need you as an 18 year old to tell me what I should enjoy and what I have to accept. We enjoy a cocktail before dinner, if a bunch of teens like you think that you are going to take that away from us, think again.

[MortgageChick]

Most of you are missing the point. It is the Principal that it was an adults only cruise, and Celebrity should have denied boarding, not have booked this family, etc. etc. It matters not if the children never spoke a word, never used the pools or were never seen, they were not supposed to be allowed on board.

How could they possibly have slipped on? They had to check their ID didn't they? Was it just an example of each employee along the way not wanting to be the one to tell these people. I am sure their docs mentioned this was an adults only cruise. Who the he** was their TA. I don't buy Celebrity's line that they slipped on without anyone noticing. Good grief what kind of idiots does Celebrity employ. I sure would like to hear the real story on this.

Carnival had a smoke free ship the Paradise(soon to be no more) . They did not allow smoking and did not make exceptions.If you arrived with a pack of cigarettes in your pocket , stating your intention to smoke, you would not have been allowed aboard. This was an adults ONLY cruise, their should have been no exceptions made.

From the parents point of view, if they were that disconnected that they were unaware they booked an adults only cruise and no one stopped them from boarding, perhaps they should demand compensation too . There was no Childrens program and they likely had to tolerate the glares and remarks of many other passengers.

I love children, but if I paid good money to have no children, I would certainly let Celebrity know.

We have just booked 2 X cruises, our first. I have been told over the years that they are the best, I will be making my observations when the time comes

[dkjretired]

Drk:

I understand your point completely and I would certainly have let Celebrity know by using the survey at the end of the cruise. I questioned only the request for compensation whether it be large or small because of the kids being on board. I believe in following the rules but where does it stop. I stated earlier that I agree with Aboatnerds assessment but didn't think it was based in reality only because the cruise line can't control everything. Your situation they could have controlled.

Mortgage chick:

I suggest reading the posts in this thread, people did not misunderstand the point that drk was making. They only questioned the need for compensation. You bring up the point of the Paradise. If someone had snuck on board with cigarettes and lit one up in the bathroom while I was in there should I then ask Carnival for compensation. Where does it end.

I agree with the OP in this thread completely, the cruise lines should try to deliver a consistent product however this is the real world and dealing with so many variables, that is just not possible.

Don

[hdawson]

We read here that some TAs tell their clients not to worry about dress in the dining room whether formal night or not. Also to keep the invoice low tell them that insurance is not that important. Are we sure the parents were fully responsible? Had the family spent alot to get to the cruise from a distant point? Could the TA have said that nobody will deny boarding with two small children on a fully paid fare? Had I been the pier supervisor, I'm not so sure I would have denied their boarding. Compensation? Get real.