How "Perfect" does your cruise have to be?

[sasset]

I'm still trying to understand what is accepted as perfect. By many accounts on this thread as well as others of a similar nature in the past any cruise is a perfect cruise as long as it is on Celebrity. There were some, not onboard her at the time, that suggested that the Millennium sitting in Rome for five (or was it more) days was just fine...look at it as being in a luxury hotel.

 

I think the points being made by Flagger and others is that as less is acceptable as satisfactory, there is less incentive to offer more than that.

 

Our last cruise we had a cabin steward that was Mr. Minimum for about 13 out of 16 days. He blamed his assistant, or he was sick or he was real busy. But he became Mr. Friendly on day 14. If you're still going to get your suggested tip, why do more than the minimum. If there are enough passengers that will accept any cruise as being wonderful, why offer more? We see it in the airline indusrty all of the time.

 

It's not that you get what you pay for. Oftem times you get whatever you will accept.

 

Regards

[cplNhst,tx]

First of all perfection is subjective.

And I don't know about some of the these comments; But my mother always told me that you cann't be everything to all people all the time not even some of the time so get over it.

 

As for the remark about being treated famously. dudu happens to famous people to and they learn to deal with it to. Part of vactioning is the traveling and traveling includes the unexpected that is part of the experience, enjoy>

[Drew B]

I have no problem with people expecting higher standards and doing what they can to achieve them. However, if their expectations lead them to have a less enjoyable time, then I feel sorry for them. Chances are, easy-to-please me is having a GREAT time!

[bobbyleduck]

I am beginning to feel bad about enjoying my cruises. It appears that my enjoyment leads directly to others not enjoying themselves because my lower expectations have a direct bearing on the service they receive. I'm afraid that is too much responsibility for me to deal with on Vacation/Holiday.

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob

[ddonalds]

Bob, I hope I cruise with you sometime...... LOVE your attitude.... So, I guess I also have to share the blame - it's not just you, it's me, too. PLUS, I have that whole Murphy thing going on, so maybe it is more my fault than yours..... BUT - I leave tomorrow to go catch an Alaskan cruise, and while my flights will be late, something won't be quite right in my room, it might rain every day, and we might not get right next to the glaciers and the waiters might not provide perfect service - I'm going to BET YOU that I have a perfect vacation.... (now, if a tsunami hits, that would kind of ruin the cruise.....:D )

[bobbyleduck]

Bob, I hope I cruise with you sometime...... LOVE your attitude.... So, I guess I also have to share the blame - it's not just you, it's me, too. PLUS, I have that whole Murphy thing going on, so maybe it is more my fault than yours..... BUT - I leave tomorrow to go catch an Alaskan cruise, and while my flights will be late, something won't be quite right in my room, it might rain every day, and we might not get right next to the glaciers and the waiters might not provide perfect service - I'm going to BET YOU that I have a perfect vacation.... (now, if a tsunami hits, that would kind of ruin the cruise.....:D )

 

Well, at least we know where you stand on this "Perfect" cruise issue. We'll hope that no tsunami hits your cruise. Travel well and enjoy yourself.

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob

[cplNhst,tx]

bob we would find it an honor to cruise with your family.:)

[bobbyleduck]

For those who would enjoy cruising with us, please join us aboard Millenium for its TA cruise December 2. Boarding begins in Barcelona. There is an entire fun loving group from the Infinity sailing, through the Panama Canal, last March, along with a huge group of CC people whom we're becoming friends with.

 

There are still great cabins at most levels available and we encourage you all to join the Duckman and all of his friends.

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob

[tls630]

Bob I will cruise with you if you cruise CARNIVAL. We have been taking the 9 day 8 night Carnival Spirit class ships and we are much more satisfied than we were on celebrity. The last few years the celebrity ships have not been maintained properly, and it relly turned us off.We tried the spirit class carnivals and have been gonig strong since. The ships are much cleaner, the food qulaity is much better and so is the service.Celebrity should never have given us reason to check around, now we are hooked.

[bobbyleduck]

Bob I will cruise with you if you cruise CARNIVAL. We have been taking the 9 day 8 night Carnival Spirit class ships and we are much more satisfied than we were on celebrity. The last few years the celebrity ships have not been maintained properly, and it relly turned us off.We tried the spirit class carnivals and have been gonig strong since. The ships are much cleaner, the food qulaity is much better and so is the service.Celebrity should never have given us reason to check around, now we are hooked.

 

You're so kind. I would travel Carnival, as I have in the past, but I now prefer the longer cruises. All it took was one 14 day cruise. It is so nice to finish a week and realize that I've still got a week to go. I'm more likely than ever to book a B2B, rather than go back to 7-10 day cruises. Imagine, if you will, you've just completed a 14 day cruise and you stay onboard and go for another two weeks. Celebrity has just completed updates of the Millenium Class ships. Our Panama Canal cruise in March was before the updates, so I'm eager to see the difference on Millenium this December.

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob

[Rick-cruiser]

I think you've posted some thoughts that a lot of people have thought about, but didn't wan't the "backlash" if they spoke up. I LOVE this site. This site has helped me plan the best vacation I wil ever have had. I am going to Alaska in Sept for my first ever cruise, and if it wasn't for this site, I am confident that my planning would not have gone so smoothly. I have read a lot of posts, even the negative ones I read. Some I have taken into consideration, some don't last in my head another second. With that being said, here is my take...

I'm dressing way up for dinner. Yes, I may offend the ones in shorts, but while I'm all girly-girled up, I don't care if a couple walks in with a chicken suit on, I'm going to enjoy my dinner. Did I cook it? Did I serve it or have to cut up someones meat? Did I have to refill someones glass? Better yet did I have to clean the kitchen or do dishes? Nope! What a great dinner it will be. Is my steak burnt? Who cares! I didn't have to cook it while tripping over shoes, gameboys, or cats! Am I torked because the square footage is off by a few inches? Nope, if you saw the cubicle I worked in, my CC room is going to look like a palace! OMG you mean I have to wait in line to get on and off the ship? Are you kidding me? Do they not know who I am? And am I upset that I have to tendor (is that what they call it) to port? Heck know! I'll grab my binoculars and point to the sky and everyone else will think were just on any other excursion. But if you look close you'll see me in a tiara and high heel pumps just to dress up one more time and take every moment as it comes. Who cares if I am in a down pour with no umbrella. How many people can say they've been rained on in Alaska?

C'mon people this is life....go with the flow. Is it life altering, or is it just a burnt waffle?

(waiting for the scolding)

(in my pumps and tiara ;) )

 

I'm late to this thread, but I just have to say that I LOVED this post!! It's SO true that it's just a matter of your perspective on things - as well as your attitude towards life. I'm usually smiling ear-to-ear as soon as I board a ship... so any of the little things that seem to bother or "ruin" a vacation for some people... don't make the slightest impact on me.

 

Again, GREAT post... and love your attitude.. :)

[happynewbie]

;) DITTO! (to the above comment)

 

Life is funny isn't it? Never know what is around the corner. We can only make the "best of it" even if it is NOT perfect.

 

Do not believe that the cruise industry will let their cruisers down if they can help it. We can bring certain things to their attention and go on with life and CRUISES!

 

We are ready to take our FIRST CRUISE and we will make every effort to enjoy it.

[Sheik]

For us it's a perfect cruise when the ship doesn't have to cancel a port of call and the weather is 'fine'.

[KikiKruiser]

NO not at all. It is about meeting and exceeding expectations. Celebrity markets itself as treating its passengers famously. What we received was a case of overpromising and under-delivering...If one needs to lower their expectations then the company should never market itself to a certain standard that they cannot meet. They should be pro-active in trying to correct the imperfections instead of allowing people to say "Oh well that is just the way it is."

 

Please allow me to jump onboard with my two cents.....I have sailed on Celebrity many times (they have been some of my favorite cruises) and always come away feeling I have been treated famously. How in the world is Celebrity (or any other cruise line) going to 100% please both you and me when we have different perspectives on "perfection"??? There is no cruise line (and believe me I have sailed on many if not most of them, on dozens of cruises) that is perfect, so if you continue to cruise and find imperfection, maybe you should re-think your future modes of vacation! JMHO.....:)

[KikiKruiser]

I am beginning to feel bad about enjoying my cruises. It appears that my enjoyment leads directly to others not enjoying themselves because my lower expectations have a direct bearing on the service they receive. I'm afraid that is too much responsibility for me to deal with on Vacation/Holiday.

 

Don't feel bad! There are many others here who share your insightful thoughts. I suspect that if you peeked into the lives of those who nitpick about perfection on a cruise, you'd find they nitpick on land vacations as well as their everyday and work lives. It's just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak!

:)

[flagger]

Ah yes, it is that easy isn't it? Just go somewhere else if your expectations are not met. Well we have voted with our wallet and sail with another line. It doesn't mean one should not expect perfection.

[Kamloops50]

Granted we all want to get the most "bang for the buck" and have the "best" possible time on our cruise vacations,but when does this obsession with the desire for perfection actually keep us from having the enjoyable vacation we are seeking?

Glancing over the threads and the desire to get two more square feet on the balcony,the anxiety over whether we can get Escargot every night,whether our teens will be entertained adaquately on their luxury cruise,will the rental tuxedo have adaquate room in the crotch, sometime just seem a bit anal retentive.

We all have to remember that,in most cases, a bad day on a cruise ship is far better than a good day at work. If we set the expectations too high and sweat the small stuff,we're defeating the whole purpose of a vacation.

 

Nothing ever goes perfectly. I find that error make the cruise even better.

 

If everything was perfect then this world would be boring and very

 

predictable . The unpredictable makes the world a fun place to live.

 

 

:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

[kitty9]

I decided that after a certain thing happened on Millennium on January 19, 2007, the stupid small things aren't any big deal. But when your 80 year old mom gets smacked in the behind by an unsecured door, and falls and breaks her hip, missing a shrimp, not having a water glass filled at a certain point, standing in line at the buffet or not getting invited to the Captain's table doesn't mean a hill of beans. So as long as everyone in my group gets home from a cruise safe and sound, all other things are just a speck of sand. Perfection has nothing to do with cost, it's all perception and expection, and if you're expecting too much, you're going to have a very disappointing cruise.

[Germancruiser]

bettyonbaord- I hope we cruise together one day. I love that thread.

Perfect- hm for me the color black is " perfect" for some others the color

" white" may be perfect. LOL!

Greetings

Michael