YukonCanadianCruiser

Refund of port charges seems appropriate to me

The reason for my post was not to incite hateful comments. We and many other folks who spoke with staff on the cruise were promised something that didn’t materialize. The only purpose of the post was to let others know when you book with X expecting exceptional treatment (a reasonable assumption based on their marketing materials), you may leave disappointed. Take care, everyone.

I certainly was not expecting a free cruise, not at all. While we were on board, senior staff indicated we would be offered compensation (a goodwill gesture, which by definition is not contractually required) from Celebrity when we got home. They did not follow through on that commitment, which is why I felt the need to warn others. I think we can all appreciate why the ports were changed and what the contract says; however, the failure of X to follow through with even a small goodwill gesture is disappointing and I felt others should know.

Offering OBC was the right thing to do - I’m glad you got that in that instance. Unfortunately, the focus on offering an exemplary customer experience is long gone with Celebrity. It’s a numbers game for them - spending extra money for a better experience with Celebrity will likely only leave you with disappointment (and a lighter wallet!)

We went to the Future Cruise desk to get a quote for a cruise to Japan next year. We didn’t end up booking on the ship because we expected a FCC when we got home and wanted to apply the FCC to the Japan cruise. After how Celebrity treated us, we will not be cruising with them to Japan (or anywhere else, quite frankly).

We were on the October 6th Apex sailing to Israel, Egypt and Turkey. Given the situation in Israel and incident in Alexandria, the Israel and Egypt portions were cancelled (I totally understand and support this decision). They were replaced with a Greek Islands cruise. While we were on the ship, X told everyone they were “working on something” and we would receive an email from X regarding compensation after the cruise ended. Guests who were scheduled on the same itinerary the following week were offered a 100% refund as a goodwill gesture if they didn’t wish to go on the revised Greek Islands itinerary. It appeared X acknowledged the substituted ports were not comparable to the original, and they were prepared to offer the next guests options even though the contract didn’t require them to, so we expected at least something. A week after we got home, we had not received an email, so we contacted X. We were told (on the phone and in writing) that there was no compensation being offered. Nothing. Not even a small FCC, nothing. We even emailed the executive office before writing this review because we couldn’t believe that was the final decision - they had the same message of no compensation. We are also aware that other guests emailed and called and got nowhere. Bottom line is this: If you are considering an X cruise, know how they treat their customers. We all know what the contract says. You may be one of the lucky ones who receive a goodwill gesture from X when things go south, but you may also be unfortunate, like we were. Before you spend your money on a “better than average” cruise, you should know that once they get your money, you are nothing more than a number for them. Other cruise lines offered their customers compensation, so choose your cruise line wisely.