djheck67

Has anyone done the special 2-day excursion to Angkor Wat during the 14-night Southeast Asia Cruise on Millenium? We have it reserved, but we will be missing the entire stay at Ho Chi Minh City. This is our first time in Asia, so we're not sure if it is worth sacrificing seeing this area of Vietnam in order to see Angkor Wat. Of course we still will get to see 2 other areas of Vietnam as well as Bangkok, but Ho Chi Minh City seems to have a lot to do and see. Any advice?

Sorry to hear about the misfortune, but you are safe. We were on the Infinity for a Feb 2010 Antarctic cruise, In the Drake passage we hit 75 K winds and 38 ft seas and succeeded safe passage. It would be dangerous to have one propulsion system working.

 

I understand your frustration. We were on the Big Red Boat ( in the 90's) out of Miami and the 20 year old ship lost half of her propulsion in the Eastern Caribbean. We missed ports and limped back home. ..

Thanks, Floridatravelersforlife. Did you get any compensation for that Caribbean cruise with ports missed? Also, did you make the Port Stanley port after such a rough Drake’s Passage?

Thanks, Floridatravelersforlife. Did you get any compensation for that Caribbean cruise with ports missed? Also, did you make the Port Stanley port after such a rough Drake’s Passage?

Thank you for your sympathies. We certainly weren’t “bored”, even with having 10 sea days in a row. We were still on vacation and were able to relax. The point is Celebrity recently won a multimillion dollar lawsuit from Rolls Royce regarding faulty jet propulsion issues on their ships, and their stock is doing exceptionally well these days. They can certainly afford to make a more generous gesture to their passengers for missing so much on this “cruise of a lifetime,” even if it were incentives for a future Celebrity cruise. I have no issue if weather or political unrest causes a port to be cancelled, but when itinerary changes are due to negligence by a huge corporation, then the corporation’s customers have a right to seek proper compensation.

Yes, very serious, and at least 500 passengers are trying to get their similar complaints onto social media. So far Celebrity’s response is that no more compensation will be forthcoming (beyond reimbursement for cancelled excursions).

We are writing to express our disappointment with this cruise. As this is our 8th cruise with Celebrity, we have known what to expect in quality, service and value of the cruise. We planned and committed to this trip around two years ago, including doing all excursions through Celebrity.

Issues about this cruise:

1. The practically last minute notification of the non-functioning engine and pod (propulsion system) was not clearly explained to us prior to the trip. Although an email was sent that stated the speed would be reduced ‘by a few knots’, that hardly explained the gravity of the situation. We constantly heard dire warnings that the ship had its speed reduced significantly thus impacting the stops we were to make and the safety of the ship in bad weather. Not reassuring. We also were deceived in believing that none of the other ports besides Porto Madryn would be affected, but the slower speed absolutely prevented our ability to stop at Port Stanley, as the day we should have been there (in normal boat speed) would have been fine weather, instead of the stormy weather we had there the following day which forced the captain to cancel yet another port of call. One navigation expert said the ship averaged 14 knots in this trip.
   
2. We were told that we would be in Ushuaia by 2:00 pm and we didn’t arrive before 4:30 pm, which shortened excursions, shops were closed, and this really impacted the visit to Ushuaia. We couldn’t even get the much touted ‘End of the World’ certificate because we had to rush to the excursions and couldn’t get to the government office to receive it. The cruise director and Mickey Live both mentioned this treat and we couldn’t even get it. We were just rushed to our excursion and by the time we got back, most stores were closed. The day started too late to be enjoyable.
   
3. The crew were working like dogs, extended shifts, and after 10 days at sea, even their customer service was understandably suffering. They were tired, over worked, stressed because their was no break. Supplies were running low, so we couldn’t get, for instance, proper orange slices in our drinks or paper cups for hot drinks. No spinach for eggs Benedict, etc. Provisions weren’t picked up in Port Stanley and even hot paper cups disappeared from the OceanView cafe.
   
4. Last night we complained to Guest Relations about the cruise and our disappointment in the severe changes to the itinerary. To not prepare your onboard staff for the onslaught of justified complaints is inexcusable. For them to say ‘tell it to Miami’ is disgusting. Give them answers for thousands of irate passengers. Today we witnessed hundreds of passengers meeting up in the OceanView cafe signing up for a class action lawsuit against Celebrity. Who wants to see this kind of behavior while on vacation? Why has Celebrity let it get so bad? The company could have nipped this entire negative situation in the bud and chose not to. Hey Celebrity, take the financial loss on this cruise and do the right thing. Reimburse passengers properly. Don’t make us wait to beg for compensation.
   
5. All of your seasoned staff, many with 10-20 years experience with Celebrity, are shaking their heads and have said they never saw such a poorly executed cruise. Even they agree that the company is being very slow to respond to the customers complaints.
   
6. If we had stuck to the original itinerary, all ports could have been visited. The day we were supposed to be at the Falkland Islands, the weather was fine. The propulsion system significantly impacted this trip. Admit it already.
   
7. Every person is aware that the only reason that Montevideo has been extended is to provision the ship for the next cruise. Celebrity has extended the hours to start at 6:00 am so they can provision the ship. What sights will we see at 6:00 am? None. The selfishness of Celebrity has been noted.
   
8. For Celebrity to not figure out another port for us to stop at to see wildlife is incomprehensible. And this is coming from your higher up crew! Your own crew, many of them, are shaking their heads.
   
9. With so many sea days on this cruise, nothing was done to add new activities and entertainment to the daily planners. Except for Jane Curry in the last night. Your band worked like animals and we hope you compensate them. Only the absolute minimum was added even with so many disappointed and bored passengers. How about an extra comedian, more free movies in the rooms, or other group activities to keep passengers from grumbling and wallowing in their negativity towards the 2 port cancellations, a third shortened out of 4?
   

Why do we have to write this letter? Why hasn’t Celebrity taken care of their passengers, captain club members, Aqua Class members?

Of course we will let Costco travel know of the lack of response by Celebrity. We hope not only every travel agent hears about this crusie but that travel sites like CruiseCritic get an earful.

We demand significant compensation back for this trip. Antarctica was fabulous, but was really the only thing that went right in this crusie. We have two future cruises planned with Celebrity, but we will be looking to see how this is handled before we decide if it’s time to have loyalty to a more professional cruise line.

You are probably correct because it books up at least one year in advance. I learned about it while on another cruise through the special excursions concierge on Celebrity Eclipse.

My wife and I are doing the 14 night Hong Kong to Singapore cruise on Millenium on December 21, 2018. We were told that we must see Angkor Wat in Cambodia while the ship is overnight in Bangkok. Does anyone recommend this over sightseeing in Bangkok, and should we take this 2 day excursion with Celebrity or with another touring group? We are aware Celebrity would probably be more expensive, but if they do a great job and give us more peace of mind, we are willing to pay extra. However, a more intimate group with a highly reputable and reliable tour company (Viator?) AND much lower cost would be attractive. Any advice is much appreciated!

My wife and I are doing the 14 night Hong Kong to Singapore cruise on Millenium on December 21, 2018. We were told that we must see Angkor Wat in Cambodia while the ship is overnight in Bangkok. Does anyone recommend this over sightseeing in Bangkok, and should we take this 2 day excursion with Celebrity or with another touring group? We are aware Celebrity would probably be more expensive, but if they do a great job and give us more peace of mind, we are willing to pay extra. However, a more intimate group with a highly reputable and reliable tour company (Viator?) AND much lower cost would be attractive. Any advice is much appreciated!

Thank you for the responses! Besides the cemetery, what else are the highlights to see and do?

We have 1 day before and 1 day after this cruise to see Buenos Aires for the first time. Does anyone suggest using a half day to tour the Tigre Peninsula and San Isidro areas? Our flight on 2/4 back to Miami is not until 11:30 pm, so the travel agent 01Argentina (through Viator) suggested we do their 5 hour tour and leave the other 7 hours or so to see more of Buenos Aires. We would already have done a half day (3 hour tour) sightseeing Buenos Aires the day before the cruise.

Checking on details for Antarctica cruise from Buenos Aires 1/18/18 - 2/4/18: does anybody know the earliest flight to take back to the US after the ship returns to BA on 2/4? Celebrity doesn't recommend (nor will they book) any return flight earlier than 11:15 am, but the only morning flight back to Miami is 10:20 am. If we're flying business class and have priority embarkation, will we be okay to make this flight?

Checking on details for Antarctica cruise from Buenos Aires 1/18/18 - 2/4/18: does anybody know the earliest flight to take back to the US after the ship returns to BA on 2/4? Celebrity doesn't recommend (nor will they book) any return flight earlier than 11:15 am, but the only morning flight back to Miami is 10:20 am. If we're flying business class and have priority embarkation, will we be okay to make this flight?

We did Iguassu Falls before our Amazon trip last year. Booked the Belmond on the Brazilian side. The Belmond picked us up from the airport, and we walked the fall trails around the hotel that afternoon-early evening. The next day the Belmond gave us a private driver/tour guide and we toured the Argentinian side. On the way back to the hotel we stopped and did the motor boat that goes close to the falls. Really fun! The tour day was about $125 + the park entrance for both of us. The Belmond is beautiful. Could have stayed there a week!

Thank you for all that info! I'm in the process of booking the Belmond based on your advice. One other question though: Did you book the tour of the A side through the Belmond as well? Many are suggesting to use 01Argentina as the touring company, but they only book their tours through the Sheraton, since they are an Argentinian company. We have limited time before the cruise on 1/21 (Sunday), so we were hoping to get in A side of falls (with Devil's Throat) , B side of falls (with boat ride), and a highlights tour of Buenos Aires in 3 days. Is that feasible?

Was at the falls independently last January (2016). Do not miss the opportunity to see Iguazu. It's amazing.

 

Stay at Das Cataratas, it's a Belmond Hotel.....now THE place to stay. Just look at the website and you'll see why. Outstanding. It's inside the park on the B side. Best benefit is you have the falls and catwalks on the B side to yourself (and a handful of other hotel guests) after the park closes at 5pm and before it opens at 9am. Wow....no crowds!!! Can't say enough about it!

 

Sheraton had been the best place to stay for years. Not anymore!

 

We flew from BA and did the A side (devil's throat etc.) with a guide that same day after being picked up at the airport on the A side of the falls. Crossed onto the B side and went to the hotel. Next day did the B side. Itinerary worked great. You will need a B visa.

 

All tour arrangements can be done via the hotel tour office... easy. Be sure to do the Macuco Safari. That's the zodiac boat that dunks you under the falls. We paid a bit extra and got to do a private boat for a group of 4. Well worth it.... it's a highlight and you aren't squeezed into a packed boat...and not much more money.

 

Enjoy the falls....truly spectacular!!!!!

Thank you for all that info! I'm in the process of booking the Belmond based on your advice. One other question though: Did you book the tour of the A side through the Belmond as well? Many are suggesting to use 01Argentina as the touring company, but they only book their tours through the Sheraton, since they are an Argentinian company. We have limited time before the cruise on 1/21 (Sunday), so we were hoping to get in A side of falls (with Devil's Throat) , B side of falls (with boat ride), and a highlights tour of Buenos Aires in 3 days. Is that feasible?

They look interesting, and I've also heard of Viator. Have you any experience with Viator?

My wife and I are doing the 14 night Antarctica cruise on Infinity to and from Buenos Aires in January 2018. Any advice on how to take a side trip to Iguazu Falls? Is pre- or post-cruise better? Best airlines (should all be to and from Buenos Aires)? Iguazu is a bit north of Buenos Aires, so not sure if it is better to fly to/from another city closer to Florida, USA. I hear we must stay at the Sheraton Hotel on the Falls grounds, and it's best to take a day trip over to the Brazilian side for a different view. So should that leave 2 extra days to see the falls on the Argentina side, or is 1 day sufficient?

Any thoughts on doing Norwegian fjords in April with Celebrity? Azamara has a more extensive itinerary, taking you to the northern end into the Arctic Circle, which is the #1 site in Norway on trip advisor, with Gereinger fjord coming in at #2. I'm wondering if some of the ports are a waste of time, as I've read on cc.

All with such great input-- thanks so much! Looks like we won't have to worry about food quality on Az. Any suggestions on which excursions are musts and which are passable? Any cabins/floors to avoid on Az ship?

We're concerned that we are not seeing enough of the Norwegian fjords. Only AZamara stop in Norway is Geiringer. I read that is the best one to see, but is it okay to miss the other fjords?

Never travelled on Celebrity, so can't compare, but we love Azamara. We talked to a couple on our last Az cruise who regularly cruise on Celebrity in an Aqua class cabin and they certainly enjoyed Azamara. They were in a Club Continent Suite which includes eating at the two speciality restaurants. I would think that they are at least equivalent to Blue.

 

 

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Have you ever done the Itinerary from Scotland to Iceland with Az? What did you think? We were worried it didn't cover enough Norwegian fjords. Also, can you comment on the Az negatives on cc about too much buffet dining, not Enough healthy choices as Blue, old ship, etc

We are big Celebrity Aqua Class fans, but want to see Iceland and Norwegian fjords in early July. Azamara cruise on July 6, 2017 may serve our needs. Not sure about itinerary because only one Norwegian fjord stop, although very thorough tour of Iceland. We are also concerned about quality of dining because we are so spoiled by the excellence of Blue. Does smaller ship risk rockier cruise? Is it worth the money, as we find Celebrity a good deal? Any other lines that you would suggest would for our needs?

We've never done Azamara, and some of the reviews on CC aren't that great, especially in regards to how old the ships are. How does Azamara compare to Oceana? It seems for that more expensive tier of cruising, Oceana seems to be more popular.

We currently signed up for the Iceland land tour connected with the British Isles cruise on August 26, 2017, but we really wanted to do a Norwegian fjords cruise combined with Iceland. We can essentially do Iceland on our own, and then join up with the fjords cruise before or after, but we would prefer to get a package together. We prefer Celebrity (Aqua Class), but we see that Princess and Windstar do these packages in early July, which is our preferred time to vacation. Any thoughts?