Amazing Service/Food but a bit disappointed in Entertainment/Management

I'll start by saying that we have sailed with Celebrity 4-5 times and have loved our time with the cruise line, however, for a variety of reasons, this most recent cruise was disappointing in certain areas and I'm not sure that we will choose Celebrity for our next cruise or recommend Celebrity to friends/family.

We had the most amazing dining experience we have every had on a cruise ship.  Our waiter, Alexyus, assistant waiter, Dirk and Sommelier, Sandra, made every night an amazing experience.  Alexyus was wonderful with our kids, showed genuine interest and excitement to see us every night and could not have been more attentive.  We were truly sad leaving on Friday night knowing that we wouldn't likely see him again.

The Tenors of Rock was THE best show we have ever seen on a cruise ship and one of the best shows in general that we have seen - they were absolutely great!!

A few issues:

1) Jamaica - we were so disappointed that we missed the entire day and couldn't get into Jamaica.  We fully understand that safety is the #1 priority and we couldn't safely dock, so no concern there.  What we did hear, however, is that in the past if a port was missed, a ship could potentially dock elsewhere.  We would have loved that but after talking with shore excursions and guest relations, we were essentially laughed at when we asked if this was considered.  Of course, we were thrilled to be able to take our kids to our very spot (Dunn's River Falls) and were disappointed when we couldn't, but again, we understand the safety risk but just wish there was an alternative that could have been found.

2) We had actually cruised on the Reflection last year and decided to cruise on the same ship this year and there was a noticeable difference in the onboard activities, at least the ones that we really enjoy.  In past cruises, we knew the activities team by name right away and saw them everywhere as they were around the ship, hosting events and ensuring guests were having a great time.  On this cruise, we literally did not see the activities director on the ship until the final day at sea - I'm sure he was around but we attended a lot of events and spent a lot of time by the pool and never saw him.  Last year, there were some great parties on the Lawn Club and by the pool and those did not happen this year - I don't think it was weather related, so not sure why the lack of outdoor events.  It seemed like the "parties" were the same every day - same music, same locations, etc and not a lot of new/different things. 

3) Lastly, and I know this isn't easy, but the bar issue is very frustrating.  Depending on the activities of the day, certain bars are more crowded than others and it is very frustrating to wait for some time and have others served before you.  It happened both in and out of our benefit, so this isn't a complaint just because we were snubbed.  I really think that Celebrity needs to design a way to have a structured approach to the bar service.  For example, if you are not physically sitting at the bar (which 1 bartender should monitor), there should be some sort of line formed to ensure guests are served in order.  While we did tip certain bar staff from time to time, we noticed others tipped fairly large amounts and they were served immediately when they arrived at the bar.  Since we are all paying an automatic 18% gratuity which is very generous to begin with, we shouldn’t be ignored because we don’t “double-tip”.