Celebrity Constellation Review
Poor and lack of timely communication on Celebrity Constellation trip October 19
Rating by category
Additional details
This is my 2nd Celebrity Cruise and it may be my last! The communication on the ship following severe weather and hitting another cruise ship was delayed, inconsistent and handled non-professionally by the captain and the officers. The lack of trained personnel to answer questions, to direct to appropriate resources and to effectively and timely offer solutions were non existent. Understanding that we had to miss 2 ports of call due to poor weather, new excursions were not offered, access to free internet was not communicated effectively to make changes to hotels and airlines and a minimal of ship activities were added when a partial sea day was added. After I waited 1 hour for internet access (only 2 computer terminals were available) an officer confiscated the computer I was about to use forcibly and would not let me sign out of my Gmail account. Besides missing the ports of Liverno and Portofino we lost a planned day in Rome upon the completion of the cruise. A scheduled debarkation time of 5 am to Civitavecchia was changed to 2:30 pm. Following the pick-up of our luggage we did not arrive in Rome till 6 pm when all churches and places to visit were closed. We requested compensation(suggested $ towards a future cruise) for the lack of professional and timely customer service, missed planned travel opportunities and the lack of sleep received the last night of the cruise due to officer announcements after midnight and a rattling noise in our stateroom caused by the increased speed of the ship to arrive at our final destination which was denied. What was amazing to us was the Celebrity Public Relations Officer Marie Kirk elaborated on the lack of professionalism of the staff, the inability to calm and comfort the passengers and the insufficient communication of the staff to resolve the issues. She stated the staff would need additional training despite the numerous complaints they had received. Marie requested invoices regarding missed tours and other expenses accrued due to an inability to contact vendors with travel changes and these were denied, too. Is this customer service?
Cabin Review
Ocean View 7
The cabin was spacious. I missed the shampoo, conditioner and soap dispensers mounted in the shower. Enjoyed the ocean view. Being on the 3rd deck which was not our first choice, however, was quieter than we expected. It was convenient to dining and other night time activities. Disembarkation was not organized with change of time coming into port. Therefore no one knew what time to disembark and how to handle transportation pick up times. Fish in the dining room was of poor quality. The lamb was delicious in the various ways it was prepared. There was also a limited amount of vegetables served with meals.
Port Reviews
Sete
Sete is a city with alot of graffiti. It is very easy to take the train which we did to Montpelier. We enjoyed a museum, local train ride learning about the city and visited a few churches.
Toulon
Independent excursion to Marseilles, Cassius and Ax. All were amazing and very interesting. The cathedral in Marseilles is a must! Our guide was very flexible since we were a small group. We learned alot about these cities, the French culture and their history. Provence Connection was the tour company