City Style and Living - Spring 2008 - (Page 54)

OMBUDSPERSON CRUISING OUT OF CONTROL one readers cruise left her and her family underweight, underfed, and underwhelmed. O ur family of four was recently on a Celebrity cruise at the end of November, 2007. My cruise was so un-enjoyable that I don't plan on taking a cruise again, certainly not with Celebrity. To begin with, we had a package we had booked months prior with Celebrity that included airfare along with the cruise. The flight plans were horrible. We had to leave our house at four in the morning to take a flight that wasn't even on the way to our destination, and we had a four hour stop-over before boarding the next flight to Hawaii. Prior to our departure date we had asked to switch the flight itinerary to get a direct flight or one stop that was in the same direction that we were headed. We even listed available flights we found that offered this. The Celebrity agent ended up sending us a new flight itinerary that would have cost us $538 per person. On top of the extra charge we would have had to incur, the flight itinerary showed us getting into Hawaii at 8:50 pm and the ship sailed at 8 pm thus we would have missed the ship. We did not go with the new itinerary. On our flights we were not seated together and we were traveling with children. On our connecting flight to Hawaii the plane was fully booked plus the people in the surrounding seats did not want to switch with us. Once on the ship we had supper and went back to our cabins, where our luggage had arrived. One of the kids' suitcases was noticeably dirty (and it was not this way when we checked it onto the ship). It also had a very used loofah knotted to the handle. I have no idea why this happened. Every night, because of the constant clanging and the sounds of something in the ceiling that was rolling back and forth with the motion of the ship, we were not able to sleep. I had complained almost every night about this noise. There was even one night where there were at least four other rooms complaining about the noise. Customer Service would tell us that maintenance was taking care of the problem and they once offered me very bad ear plugs. I was surprised that the food was the same throughout the cruise (except for the dinner menu). This was a 17-day cruise, so we were getting sick of having the same thing to eat for breakfast and lunch. After about a week the fruit was even going bad, I was beginning to be afraid to eat anything. One supper, my fish wasn't cooked fully and I was sick for the next two days. The only good fruit was pineapple which I would have to ask three different people for since they wouldn't put it out for patrons to select. I'm probably the only person that actually lost weight while on a cruise. Another thing I was very surprised about was how unfriendly Celebrity’s activities and customer service representatives were. The only friendly people were the cleaning staff and our evening waiter. The only enjoyable part of the cruise was when we were in New Zealand and that was probably because we were finally getting off the ship, never to return again. On our flight back to Calgary from New Zealand, the flight was an hour late boarding and leaving the airport. By the time we were in Los Angeles we had missed our connecting flight. This was because the Celebrity agent didn't make sure there was at least two hours between connecting flights. We had a hard time trying to get on another flight back to Calgary, so I called Celebrity and they kept giving me different numbers to call. No one seemed able to fix the problem. We were finally able to get on a flight after spending an hour negotiating with United Airlines. With all this I'm sure you can understand why we would not want to travel with Celebrity. Jennifer H Calgary, Alberta Ombudsperson had some questions for Celebrity about this complaint including, why would a cruise line as large as Celebrity forgo such important issues as keeping their cruise clients happy and comfortable during the cruise and then safely back home? Celebrity Cruises offered an apology but offered no other compensation to the family. Canadian travelers should be aware, that when booking their tickets for a cruise, they need get their agent to book them on the most convenient flight(s). Additionally, make sure you have enough time to meet your connecting flight(s) in getting to the port of call and safely back home. Any further changes once you are booked and have given your payment are liable to cost you extra money. Secondly, having a family seated together is an important issue that many other international travelers complain about. Be advised that if you are an extended family with each person having different surnames, you need to let your travel agent know that you are travelling as a family and that you require seating together or you are liable to incur added expenses for any changes to your booking. The issue about the luggage getting dirty cannot be allocated to the cruise line, it could have happened on the airline, this issue remains a mystery. Jennifer went to customer service office, just behind her room to lodge her complaint, but there were no improvements to her complaints, the noise persisted. Although Celebrity Cruises espouse that it “does its best to maintain meticulous records regarding any concerns or complaints raised by their guests, whether those are raised onboard one of our ships or raised shoreside to one of their Reservations or Customer Service staff. After reviewing their records, they have found nothing to indicate that the H. family attempted to contact them regarding their concerns”. Please be aware that you need to speak to the designated personnel in your quarter of the ship and make sure they log your complaint. Ombudsperson was shocked that someone actually lost weight on a cruise. There is no excuse for having the same menu each day on a 17 day cruise, having undercooked fish and spoiled fruit are health hazards. The company boasts that they “offer comfortably sophisticated, upscale cruise experiences with highly personalized service, exceptional dining, and extraordinary attention to detail. Noted for "The Top Cruise Ships in the World," as voted by the readers of Conde' Nast Traveler (February 2008 readers? poll), Celebrity's fleet is recognized for its state-ofthe-art ships and trend setting gourmet cuisine”. Ombudsperson’s advice is to pack some snacks for your cruise. Clearly ‘exceptional dining’ means different things to different people.The essence of an enjoyable cruise is dependent on a crew who are happy and accommodating to the cruise line’s clients. An important issue to keep in mind is that once the ship pulls offshore you are sequestered on that ship and you are dependent on ship personnel for your every need. This is a case of buyer beware. CSL Ombudsperson is a feature offered by City Style and Living Magazine. We receive a large number of letters and are therefore unable to investigate all complaints. Please state your complaint clearly and concisely, along with any pertinent pictures and documentation with a daytime phone number and e-mail address. All submissions become the property of City Style and Living and will not be returned. Submissions may be edited, and may be used or published in other media. Help is here. Write to our Ombudsperson for help with travel woes, food nightmares or retail bungles. In our next issue, SUMMER 2008, our Ombudsperson will resolve one readers’s issue and write about the lessons learned so that you too can avoid these common consumer mistakes. Write to our Ombudsperson at: editors@citystlyeandliving.com. HELP! 54 | SPRING 2008 | citystyleandliving.com http://citystyleandliving.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of City Style and Living - Spring 2008

City Style and Living - Spring 2008 Contents Editor's Note Behind the Cover The District Need It Want It Fusion Sweet Secret Restaurant Inspiration Eat Like a Locavore Covet Helen of Troy Prêt-à-Porter Anatomy Of Spring Fashion Trends Secret Garden Passport Bookcase Great Eats in Maui Tunisia Ombudsperson Horoscopes Final Thought

City Style and Living - Spring 2008

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