Gull

My apologies if this has been asked before - I searched and couldn't find it.

I booked a cruise in late May and now the exact same cruise with same offers is now available for less. The Oceania Rep I used has not been very helpful with questions about a price adjustment. I'm tempted to cancel and rebook, this time using a TA.

Has anyone been able to get an adjustment?

Are guarantee cabins ever given move-up offers?

Thanks!

18 hours ago, SnakeWake said:

We got an email today that we have a balance due on some purchases for our 4/6/23 sailing.  "Due to a recent change to your reservation, some purchases made with onboard credit are no longer paid in full.  Please pay by the due date to avoid cancellation of balance due purchases."  Due date given was 3/13/23.  After holding for 40 minutes at the number given with the email, i was told by Celebrity to call my TA.  That is now in process.

That is the exact email I received - 3 of them on two consecutive days. I'm still not convinced it is resolved....although Celebrity claims it is.

In the event this helps anyone...

I called Captain's Club and the person was nice but unable to help. Transferred me to the Dept. that could.

After a 38 minute wait I was connected with Gioavani. He told me it was a good thing I called because the reservation would have been canceled had I not called. Told me my Celebrity Cruise Consultant hadn't resolved the issue (although I know he did yesterday as I had the email that shows it).

I've now printed out everything - all emails to bring with me as I don't believe this has been resolved.

This is not a seamless vacation. This is beyond aggravating.

2 minutes ago, snowballs mom said:

I am waiting for them to get back to me. To make matters worse, it is booked through the blue chip club, so they have to work on it. I am concerned because this is a cruise leaving in a week and I am worried about losing the booking. At least I have a paper trail of everything to show what was paid and what should have been refunded.

I hear you!

I've got a paper trail too. I need to sort this out today as am leaving on a business trip out of the country and won't be able to use their 800 numbers. 

This is ruining my anniversary celebration. 

3 minutes ago, snowballs mom said:

We currently are having an issue with getting an excursion refund credited to the proper card. The credit went to the wrong card, and it looks like that amount is now showing as owed on what was once a fully-paid reservation. Not impressed.

Were you able to call Someone? 

Just now, davekathy said:

Never. It is unacceptable. I wouldn't wait until Monday. I would be on the phone immediately. 

I tried our Celebrity dedicated consultant. 

What is the best number to call? Thanks

We've got an upcoming reservation in a couple of weeks that was paid for by the due date.

It's for a BIG anniversary.

Had an email yesterday saying we owed  substantial amounts and my account looked like they had doubled the cost of the cruise.

Called our Celebrity Consultant and he sorted it out at Celebrity's end.

It's happened again today with my dining reservations saying I owe money. All was paid on the date of booking using some of our onboard credit.

When I checked my credit card, I was charged full amount and the onboard credit was not counted.(but it was used).

My Cruise consultant is out of the office until Monday. 

Is/has anyone else had this problem?

We are Elite and I'm about to call Captain's Club but I'm feeling that this is ridiculous and unacceptable.

On 11/8/2022 at 9:59 PM, Over from NZ said:

What are you interest in? Strenuous stuff or not? And are you talking about an excursion for just a day from a ship.. or when you do a land visit? By land, there's so many cool things nearby.. but you won't have enough time for most of them from the ship. If it's just for the day.. perhaps get an uber or taxi into the city and from there, you can catch the Tram, go to the Botanical Gardens, The Museum, Punt on the Avon, Check out the Terrace area and Riverside Mall for lunch. Things like that. Easily done as it's a short hop over the hill from the port. Even the Gondola could be an option. If you're doing it by land.. look into the Tranz Alpine which is great.. drive the Arthurs Pass (but hey, from there you've got to explore the West Coast!), you've got day-trips to Akaroa (nice French themed seaside town), to Kaikoura and whale-watching.. to wineries.. could go on and on. Happy to throw other ideas to you. 

Thank you for the wonderful suggestions! Since it is only one day, I think we will follow your first suggestion and head into town to explore. I am intrigued by Akaroa though....maybe that land trip we are hoping to do next year will actually come to fruition.

13 hours ago, mahdnc said:

Here is some information on the tour from someone who took it in Dec 2019:

 

 

 

Thank you!!!

This was very helpful.

19 hours ago, Over from NZ said:

Wow. I wondered if you were starting or finishing in NZ - I would have suggested tacking an extra day or 2 on to your holiday.. flying to Queenstown, doing all that, staying there.. and still having change left over from what the cruise company charges for that excursion lol. You can fly to Queenstown from the main airports in NZ. Actually, you can fly there from Sydney for what you've paid haha. It's a great excursion though and the Queenstown lakes districts are some of the prettiest parts of NZ.. but heck, they know how to charge. Still, am sure you'll love it! All the best! 

Thank you for your reply!

We were supposed to take this cruise in Feb. 2021 which was cancelled due to COVID. Originally it ended in Auckland and our plan had been to stay a couple of days (or more) to explore NZ. 

Not an option now so doing the best we can with what we have. I think we are going to do the tour and enjoy the experience. Hoping to do a land visit to NZ over New Year's 2024...

I see you are from Christchurch - any suggestions for an do-it-yourself excursion? 

Thank you again!

11 hours ago, Over from NZ said:

What do they sting you for that? And where does your cruise start/End?

Cruise starts and ends in Sydney. The cruise land excursion is 24 hours.  Price is now 1100 USD. We paid 800USD. PP. First time visiting NZ. Thank you 

" 

Highlights

• Explore the enchanting gold rush village of Arrowtown and discover the town’s rich history at the Lakes District Centennial Museum.
• Relish the magnificent views of towering granite mountains, ice-carved fjords and sparkling waterfalls at Fiordland National Park.
• Experience the grandeur of Milford Sound, named the world’s top travel destination by TripAdvisor in 2008.
• Enjoy a delicious lunch in Alexandra
• Sample award-winning wines at the Gibbston Valley Winery, renowned for their extraordinary range and premium quality.
• See the Kawarau Suspension Bridge, the site of the first commercial bungee-jumping operation.
• Embark on a scenic evening cruise across stunning Lake Wakatipu aboard a vintage steamship.
• Savor authentic New Zealand fare and enjoy a fascinating sheep dog herding demonstration at Walter Peak High Country Farm."   

We've booked a fairly pricey cruise excursion called, Multi-Day Adventures - Queenstown - Milford/Dunedin on Celebrity.   Would like to hear from anyone who has done this or something similar. Worth the cost?  Description below.

Thank you!

 "Immerse yourself in the spectacular natural beauty and rich culture of Queenstown on an overnight tour that features historic mining communities, a lush, emerald gorge, an exemplary winery and incredible cuisine. Explore vibrant lakeside towns and picturesque villages as you journey across commanding snow-capped mountains, awe-inspiring fjords and the pristine alpine scenery New Zealand is famous for. An evening steamship cruise, fascinating museum visit and award-winning vintages all converge in an unforgettable experience."

And....finally....

After all the headache, I called again. 39 minute wait time. Somehow, I managed to end up with someone named Coral who was WONDERFUL!!!

I believe she is based in Jamaica and she should be elevated to Manger/Supervisor because she optimizes great customer service.

She tried one group while I waited for over an hour and in the end not helpful. She said she'd try one other option and would it be ok if she would call me back.

I said fine and thanked her for all her assistance. I assumed I would not hear back. 2 hours later she called back. Credits extended the extra days and applied to my cruise!

I do hope someone on Celebrity reads our comments.

So I tried the idea of contacting assistance via their online assistant.  The conversation has been copied and is below.  I followed their suggestions. The new phone number connects you to the same information as the other number they publicize.

I tried adding my FCC to my NZ cruise which expires 4 days before the cruise. My Plan B is to move to an Australia Wine cruise leaving in early Feb. 

I tried calling. Useless.

I tried calling as if to make a new booking. Person was lovely and did offer some suggestions including asking to speak to a supervisor.

I called again to try to get help. Made contact with someone after 35 minutes who was at least helpful and polite. On the phone for over an hour and was told that they will not extend the certificate for 4 days so that we can use them. She is now trying another supervisor office to see. Will I get a call back?

This is just ridiculous.

Me Hi, We have a New Zealand cruise booked for February 16, 2022. This is replacing a New Zealand cruise from 2021 that was canceled due to COVID. Is it possible to move the cruise up to the Australia Wine cruise on February 7? We have two $1,000 certificates I thought I'd be able to use but they expire on February 12? Or could they be applied to my original New Zealand cruise? Thank you.

Customer Service Thank you for choosing to chat with us. We are experiencing high chat volume. One of our agents will be with you shortly.

Anna Hello! Thank you for contacting Celebrity Cruises, where we take you to unforgettable destinations. My name is Anna, with whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with today?

Me

I can provide you with my Captain's Club number and reservation number if that helps

Anna hello

Me Hi!

Anna we are removing redemption and sail-by date parameters from your Future Cruise Credits. Here are some additional details of what is changing as of today: • The portion of the FCC value that represents 100% of the cruise fare paid on your original reservation will no longer expire. • The incremental 25% bonus value that was provided will expire on the original expiration date or on 12/31/22, whichever is later.

you can redeem your Future Cruise Credit here -> https://www.celebritycruises.com/future-cruise-credit

Me I tried and it wouldn't let me

Anna please call our customer service team to assist you

The phone number for our Customer Service Team is US (800) 556-8209 option #3 or Canada (888) 303-6067 option #3. They are available 7:00 am-12:00 am EST

Me I called them Yesterday and was on wait for and hour and 10 minutes before speaking to someone. 15 minutes later he said he was connecting me with someone else and 5 minutes later I was disconnected. It was not at all helpful.

Anna hold shouldn't be longer that 15-20 mins at this time

Hi are you still there? If you need anything else let us know. If you have any questions after the chat has been disconnected, please feel free to message us again.

1 hour ago, If only said:

I have found that if you want to make a correction or change a cruise the fastest way to do this is to do a mock booking & most of the time at the bottom right hand corner “ask us anything” will appear. I have done many changes to reservations this way on their chat line.  They are quick & very efficient plus never had to wait long at all.   I have only had one person not be very helpful.

I'll give this a try shortly as my issue was not resolved. (Thank you for this idea).

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

They will eventually answer.  Celebrity needs to address this issue.  It is a customer-facing primary contact.  They need to put whatever resources they need on it to fix it.  More staff and more training to start.  They are overwhelmed.  It is well beyond the initial period where we all had patience.  Now it is just very bad customer service and bad business.

Agreed! Customer Service should have been improved by now. 

After 1 hour and 10 minutes I got through to someone. After speaking for 15 minutes we decided to move our second cruise up by a week. He said he was going to connect me to someone who can help. A specialist. 

I then heard the same recorded music and alerts that I heard when I initially called.

At 1:51:08 in the call I was disconnected.

Any suggestions on what to do? 

Sign me Frustrated

We are long-time Celebrity cruisers with two cruises coming up. 

I'm now on my 3rd call to Celebrity. 

My first call was about a missing FCC. I managed to speak to a customer care employee, the wait was over an hour and the entire call took close to 3 hours. Fortunately the problem was resolved and I was grateful.

This time it is to apply a large FCC to one of my two booked trips. It won't allow me to do it online. (I've tried multiple times).

This morning I called twice and was on hold for 40 minutes each time. First call was disconnected and I had to hang up the second time to work. I am on hold now for 48 minutes with no sign of a customer care person.   

Is there another customer care number/email other than what is on the website that works?

Thank you

Hi,

Thank you for posting all this wonderful and helpful information!!!

We are traveling on the Jade August 25, from Southampton doing an almost identical itinerary.

Was there an extra room service charge for having coffee in the room in the mornings?

Thank you,

Gull

Thank you so much for posting! We are doing a very similar cruise on NCL this August. You've given us some wonderful ideas for what to do. (The waffles looked delicious!)

How rough were the seas for the crossing over to Norway from the UK?

Thank you,

Gull

Thank you!

I think I may have to book an extra cabin....:( Not sure my adult kids will be happy with the sofa bed.

We've just booked a Royal Family Suite Aft. cabin for a New year's cruise. There will be 8 of us and the sofa bed will be used.

Could anyone tell me what type of sofa bed they use? The uncomfortable springs pull out type found in most sofa beds?...Or similar to some Hilton Suites, a fold out sofa bed with a wooden base (much more comfortable.)

Thank you!