Celebrity Constellation - Transatlantic Crossing

This was my 2nd sailing on the Constellation. In July 2006, I took my Mom on a Norwegian Fjords cruise on the Constellation, visiting Dover, Cork, Dublin, Le Havre, 3 stops through Norway, then Copenhagen. We loved the ship and the ports so much, that when it came time to book another cruise (I book a trip every year with my Mom as a Christmas present), I wanted to go back on the Constellation. Last time we had a Concierge level room, which was wonderful. But I went for the extra splurge this time and got a Royal Suite. It was such a treat to have a really large cabin.

Our on-board experience was fantastic, but I cannot say that about the booking experience with Celebrity for the hotel and air arrangements. It was a nightmare. I live in the San Francisco Bay area, so wanted to have a couple nights in Ft. Lauderdale prior to boarding the ship. Good thing too, as there was a major storm on the Eastern seaboard during this time. The hotel I chose is the Sheraton Yankee Clipper, which is on the beach. It was rather ordinary, but I was just looking for a place to rest after a day of flights. Unfortunately it took 4 corrections to get my reservation right. Every time Celebrity would email me a confirmation for the hotel arrangements, they got the dates wrong or the pricing incorrect. They also made mistakes in the air line booking for both me and my Mom. They changed our seats after confirmation and had the audacity to de-book an upgrade I made with American directly. I received a voicemail 2 months after booking, informing me I could not change my own seats until Celebrity gave me permission. It took of nine hours of phone calls and emails to get everything correct. One call I made to voice my displeasure about the process, and how these mistakes never happened on other cruiselines in my experience (Norwegian, Princess), the agent told me that I had just been lucky in the past. Eventually, I talked to a customer service rep who offered me a $200 credit to my cabin charges. That to me, was just minimal given the effort I had to make. I could have made all these arrangements myself online or with the hotel and airline directly in less than 30 minutes. Next time, I will not book air and hotel through Celebrity. Read more