The great rip off
2
Celebrity a blatant rip off, and modern day pirates.
Just finished a 10 day med cruise on Celebrity Silhouette, a special holiday for the wife and I to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. Before we even set off the omens were not good with the travel agent having to get in contact with celebrity 3 times to rectify such things as missing paperwork, baggage not included on the flight tickets as well as taxis booked at the incorrect times. Then on our arrival at our hotel in Athens at 7 am we had to wait until 2 pm for a room. Once on ship it started, this once fantastic holiday experience with celebrity ( had travelled with them 3 times prior ) turned into a pay through the nose rip off with staff pushing such things as fine dining and beauty treatment. Even at breakfast they constantly asked would you like drinks from the bar. From a simple beer, ( Coors light which they get duty free ) at $9.00 plus 20% gratuity. $18.00 per day per person cabin gratuity. The list goes on. $250.00 for a consultation with a doctor for a simple stomach upset before they would sell you a Tum Tum (Rennie). $10 plus 50% gratuity to have a pair of trousers laundered, (not pressed thats an extra $5.00 plus gratuity). The cost for fine dining that is basically the same meal you get in the cafeteria just dressed up $30.00 per person. $15.00 for a glass of wine. Meals in the cafeteria became bland after 5 days. The wifi cost for a 10 day basic connection exceeds my 6 month charges at home. ($250.00) with most passengers having to upgrade their package due to such a slow stuttering system. $135.00 per person tour of Pompeii (30 minutes from port) which we did for 42.00 Euro each. Entertainment with all but 3 of the shows being 2nd class, hosted by a Vicar of Dibley look alike cruise director who needs to sweep the stage rather than appear on it. Dirty carpets and drapes in the cabin. Five cruise liners all jostling for position at the same port at the same time, (one being a second Celebrity cruise liner) (Thats a possible 12,500 people all descending on to the dock area by tender) The result being that the port authority had to get involved and a two and a half hour queue on the docks. Tour guides turning up drunk and leaving passengers to there own devises. To top it all off the flight back was over booked and I did not have a seat on the plane which was booked by Celebrity. It was only when my wife burst into tears and at the last possible minute they finally found a seat on the same flight but at the other end of the aircraft from my wife. My praise as always goes to the restaurant staff, and housekeeping, as normal they are just fantastic, however just an observation on my part, next time you go cruising look at the staff especially the European ones, not one of them had a tan even though they had been on board ship for weeks . When asked they said sleep was more important, and they had no outside space when off duty. Will I go back to Celebrity, no. Will I recommend Celebrity, no. Why would you when you know that there turn over is between 2.9 to 3.1 billion $ a year. (2023) Thats a lot of gratuitys.
P.B
Northern Ireland
Oct 2024.
Paul
Post Date: 08/11/2024
