One word on Celebrity - DONT !!!!!

PaulJude · #1 (**permalink**) June 11th, 2011, 12:39 AM

Are my partner and I the only ones who have had a hellious experience with Celebrity? Made reservations for the new Silouhette. Despite multiple calls....multiple corrections....15-20 minutes on hold for customer service, they repeatedly got our reservations wrong. Wrong name, email, etc. And when we finally got to customer service after about a hundred calls.....the response was "so we made a little mistake, so what". We were left feeling like the day of the cruise, we would show up at the dock and the would say "Sorry Paul, there's no reservation in that name". We cancelled right then and there. We'll stay with Seaborne and Regent.

Donna · #2 (**permalink**) June 11th, 2011, 06:54 AM

This may be another reason to book with a good travel agent?? There is no way I would of booked after going through all that with errors too..

anniegb · #3 (**permalink**) June 11th, 2011, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donna

This may be another reason to book with a good travel agent?? There is no way I would of booked after going through all that with errors too..

Donna - the pertinent word is GOOD.

I have returned from a RCCL cruise, travel agent misquoted my given name which resulted in:

Seapass Issues
Cabin keycard issues
Non-existent dinner reservations- I did have the confirmation email BTW
Visa form issues
and to top it all I had to produce supplementary documentation to disembark

The TA was advised of the error, apparently corrected it and I was assured there would be no issues.

Annie

jacdenv24 · #4 (**permalink**) June 11th, 2011, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulJude

Are my partner and I the only ones who have had a hellious experience with Celebrity? Made reservations for the new Silouhette. Despite multiple calls....multiple corrections....15-20 minutes on hold for customer service, they repeatedly got our reservations wrong. Wrong name, email, etc. And when we finally got to customer service after about a hundred calls.....the response was "so we made a little mistake, so what". We were left feeling like the day of the cruise, we would show up at the dock and the would say "Sorry Paul, there's no reservation in that name". We cancelled right then and there. We'll stay with Seaborne and Regent.

It's unfortunate you had this experience but I think it's a little harsh to condemn an entire cruiseline because you ran into one incompetent booking agent. I can't understand why people don't use TAs

-we've done 14 cruises and NEVER booked directly with the cruiseline. Not sure why, just feel more secure with my TA. It doesn't cost any more and we often get an OBC. And we've changed our cabin twice since we booked and the same day I get a new invoice with the corrected info. Plus, there was a substantial price drop last week on our next Jan. cruise (on the Silhouette) which our agent honored immediately-not sure if Celebrity does this?
I think you will miss a wonderful cruising experience by not sailing Celebrity, especially on a new Solstice Class ship.You really should reconsider.

Manuel · #5 (**permalink**) June 11th, 2011, 10:06 AM

I am another cruiser who is a big fan of travel agents.
My travel agent even does our online registration for us.

I have been on 15 cruises with no booking problems.

And don't sink a whole cruiseline because one person did not do a great job.

I love Celebrity and have cruised with them 9 times and have allways had an Excellent cruise.

TM

johnthed0g · #6 (**permalink**) June 11th, 2011, 10:46 AM

Best cruiseline for us!

green_rd · #7 (**permalink**) June 11th, 2011, 01:20 PM

I'm guessing it is a poorly designed reservation system, in that it doesn't support error correction very well. You think it would be keyed to your booking ID and the rest would be cake.

Manuel · #8 (**permalink**) June 11th, 2011, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnthed0g

Best cruiseline for us!

I second that emotion!

TM

Trip · #9 (**permalink**) June 11th, 2011, 05:11 PM

Too bad you won't get to experience the Solstice class of their ships..excellent in my opinion....As mentioned, next time you book any cruise, use a cruise specialist travel agent.

johnthed0g · #10 (**permalink**) June 11th, 2011, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trip

Too bad you won't get to experience the Solstice class of their ships..excellent in my opinion....As mentioned, next time you book any cruise, use a cruise specialist travel agent.

Solstice class ships are wonderful, only done one short trip on Eclipse (official maiden, not that you would have known!) but the cruise on Constellation was great too.

Donna · #11 (**permalink**) June 11th, 2011, 07:06 PM

You also have to go to the cruiseline web-site and go through all the personal information and correct any errors as soon as you have a booking number and can access your information. Some things you can't just leave up to a travel agent or a customer service agent either...

dkjretired · #12 (**permalink**) June 12th, 2011, 09:18 AM

Because of new government regulations some things can't be changed on the web site.

I also don't get very upset at threads such as this as we don't know the other side of the story..

john_galt · #13 (**permalink**) June 13th, 2011, 06:14 PM

I've booked the last 11 of my 12 cruises through the same TA. Find a good one and stick with them! I'll probably be on a Soltice class ship for 2013.

GoneAgain · #14 (**permalink**) June 14th, 2011, 01:02 AM

Did you book direct. I have not had a problem with Celebrity

Rev22:17 · #15 (**permalink**) June 14th, 2011, 05:43 PM

PaulJude,

Quote:

Originally Posted by You

Are my partner and I the only ones who have had a hellious experience with Celebrity? Made reservations for the new Silouhette. Despite multiple calls....multiple corrections....15-20 minutes on hold for customer service, they repeatedly got our reservations wrong. Wrong name, email, etc. And when we finally got to customer service after about a hundred calls.....the response was "so we made a little mistake, so what". We were left feeling like the day of the cruise, we would show up at the dock and the would say "Sorry Paul, there's no reservation in that name". We cancelled right then and there. We'll stay with Seaborne and Regent.

In FIFTEEN (15) cruises with Celebrity, I have never had a problem with a booking.

Then again, I have always booked my cruises through a travel agent or through the onboard booking desk aboard one or another of the line's ships.

Norm.

Golf1832 · #16 (**permalink**) June 21st, 2011, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkjretired

Because of new government regulations some things can't be changed on the web site.

I also don't get very upset at threads such as this as we don't know the other side of the story..

I agree--we don't know the other side of the story. Hard to believe that Celebrity would be as bad as
described by the poster.

momofmeg · #17 (**permalink**) June 29th, 2011, 05:12 PM

I agree with djretired

momofmeg · #18 (**permalink**) June 29th, 2011, 05:18 PM

Well if he can afford Regent's prices and really likes them-it may be he is used to the kid glove service that mainstream lines can't afford to give at their prices.

Our budget is more in line with mainstream lines, so I don't sweat the small stuff. However, if we could splurge just once, I would love to cruise Regent or Crystal, I hope it would not spoil me where I would turn a jaded eye on a more affordable line!

Kruser · #19 (**permalink**) September 28th, 2011, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkjretired

Because of new government regulations some things can't be changed on the web site.

I also don't get very upset at threads such as this as we don't know the other side of the story..

What are the "new government regulations"? I always do everything online.

Always felt that TA's might not tell you all available cabins (?)

johnthed0g · #20 (**permalink**) September 28th, 2011, 04:52 PM

Been reading a thread on a UK site saying how absolutely dreadful Celebrity are...I just don't see it, I think they are marvellous!

Spartan kent · #21 (**permalink**) September 28th, 2011, 05:00 PM

John

If it's the same one I have been reading it's possibly a spoof thread.

Trip · #22 (**permalink**) September 28th, 2011, 05:06 PM

Every line has it's haters & cheerleaders. Often times, the ones who say how terrible things are, have never sailed the line....they listen or read, then assume, and you what what they say about that!

johnthed0g · #23 (**permalink**) September 28th, 2011, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spartan kent

John

If it's the same one I have been reading it's possibly a spoof thread.

Quite an old one though....

Spartan kent · #24 (**permalink**) September 28th, 2011, 05:21 PM

On some of the UK forums Cunard get a lot of stick from posters who have never sailed with them. They rant about class systems then get upset when they find out that many cruise lines have reserved areas.
They can't accept you get what you pay for.

OldFartCruiser · #25 (**permalink**) September 29th, 2011, 08:17 AM

It is good Pauljude cancelled the Celebrity cruise. He would have been disappointed expecting the same services provided by the more expensive cruiselines. IMO Celebrity does about the best of the everyday priced lines.

ruthlessboss · #26 (**permalink**) September 29th, 2011, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldFartCruiser

It is good Pauljude cancelled the Celebrity cruise. He would have been disappointed expecting the same services provided by the more expensive cruiselines. IMO Celebrity does about the best of the everyday priced lines.

Agree , never been disappointed.

misty1 · #27 (**permalink**) October 4th, 2011, 12:27 PM

TA can be good and bad. Also, if you book direct, you can also get a good or bad agent. Avoid trying to boo direct unless there is a good perk. It's always nice to have another person working for you. I tried to book my next cruise directly because I wanted apair of connecting cabins. I thought it would be easier. I wasn't shopping price as much as the cabin locations. I called on a Sunday and got the rudest dumbest person. He could book the cabins but he could not put our family of 6 at the same dining times. 2 could be at 6pm the rest at 8:30?? I thought that I was hearing something wrong. I refused to book. I called again on Monday and got the similar response from another agent. At that point I was ready to ditch Celebrity and book an a different cruise line. My family persuaded me to try again. I then called a 3rd party TA who got exactly what I wanted. I then called Miami to verify the arrangements. It's good. I shouldn't have had to go through hoops to book a cruise. I am elite. Next time, I call the TA first.

fun2cruiz · #28 (**permalink**) October 4th, 2011, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by misty1

TA can be good and bad. Also, if you book direct, you can also get a good or bad agent. Avoid trying to boo direct unless there is a good perk. It's always nice to have another person working for you. I tried to book my next cruise directly because I wanted apair of connecting cabins. I thought it would be easier. I wasn't shopping price as much as the cabin locations. I called on a Sunday and got the rudest dumbest person. He could book the cabins but he could not put our family of 6 at the same dining times. 2 could be at 6pm the rest at 8:30?? I thought that I was hearing something wrong. I refused to book. I called again on Monday and got the similar response from another agent. At that point I was ready to ditch Celebrity and book an a different cruise line. My family persuaded me to try again. I then called a 3rd party TA who got exactly what I wanted. I then called Miami to verify the arrangements. It's good. I shouldn't have had to go through hoops to book a cruise. I am elite. Next time, I call the TA first.

Dining times have maximum passengers allowed.... it is very possible that when you called there were only 2 slots open for the early seating thus being unable to accommodate your dining request......you then called again and got a similar response.... then called a TA and you got your preferred dining times. That could be because of cancellations and or changes that occured in the dining reservation system after your initial calls to =x= direct. I seriously doubt it was your TA that made your dining request "magically" happen, but if that is what you want to believe....so be it !

Donna · #29 (**permalink**) October 4th, 2011, 07:02 PM

Key word here, is request. Until you board and get your sign/sail card and see what dinning option you actually have, until then it is anyone's guess.

fun2cruiz · #30 (**permalink**) October 4th, 2011, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donna

Key word here, is request. Until you board and get your sign/sail card and see what dinning option you actually have, until then it is anyone's guess.

Having sailed with =x= numerous times, I have always been "Confirmed" for dining preference at time of booking and have always been provided the dining that was initially confirmed. Yes, you should check when getting your boarding card, but unless "waitlisted" for a specific dining, your confirmed dining should be on that boarding card. If waitlist has not cleared up until date of sailing, you would not know your dining until you actually board the ship.