anniegb

6 minutes ago, Belgian fry said:

The thing is, I contacted them asking them to check my reservation was OK before reserving my flights and I have a feeling they haven't checked but just sent me a standard reply

FWIW I have not contacted my TA but I do monitor my reservation status via Manage Reservations,

Just a suggestion, if you reserve your flights by using Flights by Celebrity, you do not pay upfront and if they cancel your cabin, you have no liability.

Annie

7 minutes ago, Irish27 said:

We booked a cruise with a TA in May, 2022 on the Celebrity Millennium, 12 nights Best of Japan departing Mar 16th, 2024. We had a good deal; Veranda, beverage package, prepaid gratuities, and wireless Internet package for Under $2;000 USD each person! The cabins were unassigned and we paid a deposit of $900 USD. Our friends booked as well, same deal! (Total 3 cabins)
 

We all received an email this week from our TA that Celebrity have oversold the celebrity millennium sailing that we are booked on! We were given two options, lift, and shift to select 24/25 Asian voyages or cancel and receive a full refund plus $450 USD per person credit. 
 

We have placed calls & sent emails to our TA and Celebrity waiting for a response!

That was a seriously good deal.  I am unsurprised your cabins were cancelled.

If you can find an itinerary that suits you, I would suggest Lift and Shift.  However keep an eye on airfares.  I booked a refundable ticket ex UK in December and the price has now more than tripled.

3 minutes ago, Scottishclover said:

We booked on 8th March 2022. If we were to cancel our current booking and book on a July 2024 Japan cruise, which would suit us better timing wise,  the price for the exact same rooms and same amount of nights is £3400 more expensive!

I know. However I scored, for once the other way.

I booked originally in Sep 2021 for an Oct 2022 cruise.  I had been monitoring Covid Regs in Japan and sensed Japan would be very restrictive in 2022 so I switched to similar date in 2023.  Celebrity deployment issues meant it would be the Millie instead of the Solstice - suits me well and I saved 50% of my original 2022 cruise price.  As a solo, that is very unusual. I admit I had a little dance 🙂 Shortly afterwards, the prices exploded.

I am not cancelled yet but would not be surprised to receive an email. Should it happen, I will revert to back up plan - land trip

I read that many of our NA cousins are now experiencing non-refundable deposits - welcome to our world.

FWIW July in Japan can be hot,humid and wet!

Good luck!

6 minutes ago, Scottishclover said:

We are booked on sailing Best of Southern Japan 28th March 2024.

Apologies again.  When did you book?? I amended my booking in March 2022 - I had a 6th sense that my 2022 reservation would not happen because of Japan's covid policies.  

3 minutes ago, Scottishclover said:

I don’t think that can be true. We have 2 inside cabins booked on 28th March and so far have not been cancelled. We got an unbelievable deal on them as we booked just after they were released  so pretty sure we have paid one of the lowest prices. 
 

I really wish Celebrity would have asked for volunteers to move to a later date. We would have jumped on that as we are not sure our daughters can go now due to a change in university term times/exams but we have a non-refundable deposit.

 

Reading different people’s accounts there seems to be no rhyme nor reason as to why certain people have been cancelled.

Apologies, senior moment.  Booked 28th March what year and what year is your sailing ?

21 minutes ago, Judy Arthur said:

 

A couple of separate parties on FB claim to have been told that cancellations were being determined by price paid for the cruise.

That would make sense commercially - maximise income.

I suspect that would not please everyone esp those who scored a 'fabulous deal'. Someone suggested they withdraw the 'comped' casino cabins.

I was originally booked on the Solstice and shifted to the Millenium and saved a fortune 🙂

Annie

7 hours ago, nwcruiselover said:

This is the first explanation I have heard that makes any sense.  I hope it’s true.  Sorry you were canceled, but thanks for getting back to us.  Maybe those of us booked in 2020 can finally breathe a sigh of relief…..maybe.

Explanation does not account for oversold interior cabins.

4 minutes ago, neverlaysup said:

Celebrity Cruises may flag their vessels in Malta or Ecuador but they are a US based company. For starters, this oversell situation on X and RCL (Wonder of the Seas) is the first time I have ever seen this situation on a cruise line. The reasons the airlines have been mandated to pay certain amounts is because they overbook as a standard practice and the government has realized that passengers need to be appropriately compensated for a situation that was 100% in control of the airline.

 

Perhaps, the cruise industry needs to be held to the same standard, especially if operating out of a US port. It is unreasonable to expect a person to purchase travel insurance to protect them against the cruise line. Insurance is a protection of the person against illness and injury. As such, any cruise line that forcibly boots a passenger due to an oversell should be on the hook for at a minimum, all non-refundable expenses incurred....full airfare reimbursement (does not matter if you purchased super saver economy or first class), hotels......etc! For airline passengers, they get up to $1550 for over a two hour delay for bumps and essentially fly for free, so perhaps the cruise line should be comping you a similar cruise of your choice. It seems like a fair ask for the level of inconvenience they have caused. 

This is not the 1st time, RCCL group have oversold cruises.

IIRC. 2017 and the Royal Princess in the Med?? IIRC. some Celebrity TAs in Apr 2017 were also impacted.

Generous compensation was paid but we now live in different times.

Annie

3 minutes ago, Tarwood3 said:

Ive also heard deck 7s….it seems to be all over the place.  

Another theory bites the dust!

6 minutes ago, stormy_weatherman said:

 
I had a “deluxe verandah” on deck 9. 

Thanks.

Well that has broken the pattern.  Someone had reported that it was primarily decks 2 and 3 that were impacted along with some verandah cabins on deck 6.

2 minutes ago, stormy_weatherman said:

My September 30th was cancelled. It was a Lift & Shift from my March 2023 cancelled Solstice cruise. Had not paid in full but had paid more than the deposit. 
 

https://youtu.be/paZiIaezsn4

Sorry to hear that.  Which deck??

14 minutes ago, sqrl18 said:

Not a fan of paying before I have to either, just wondering if that would better protect me from being cancelled.  Regarding the air ticket, I can understand the comment, but the issue arose from the cruise line providing bad information about the cruise on the app.  If my theory is right, this was poor QA by the cruiseline.  The app is to provide convenience to the customer; I pull up my cruise and see the dates on my upcoming trips and should be good to go.  That's the reason this is on them - like when an airline posts a fare in error and they have to honor it even it was a mistake.  If the space was available and only a few miles more it wouldn't be an issue.  We save our miles and book early to secure the best deals to travel with. The tickets are now 450k miles per person from 60k miles due to this error.  See why I'm cranky?

Different rules depending upon which side of the Atlantic??

Not all airline error fares are honoured in Europe.  

I do understand the crankiness though but I suspect Celebtity may not be helpful.

Good luck

Annie

28 minutes ago, sqrl18 said:

We're booked on Celebrity Millenium for 15SEP Transpacific cruise in Aquaclass.  This was a rollover from the SEP'22 cruise that was cancelled by Celebrity.  I heard from Celebrity this cruise is crazy oversold, but no other information or change options were offered.  I've been trying to make my full payment while still able to get full refund in case I have cancel, but the page has been unavailable for over a week.  Another issue is I booked the incorrect date for my return trip from TYO.  The cruise was rebooked in APR'22 so airspace was not available to book.  I used the app (that Celebrity always pushes you to) and the dates posted (still) are 15-29SEP on the first two pages of the cruise display.  The actual end date is 30SEP.  Called my cruise planner who advised, per the invoice, the cruise dates have always been 15-30SEP.  Issue is I booked my air the day the flight rolled into the system (4ONV22), based on the dates I saw in the app (15-29SEP).  Two seats on JAL in business for an insanely low amount of miles; I was booked got great deals and was happy! Now, I would have to suffer on AA at 450k miles pp.  I sent a screen shot to the rep stating, due to errors in the display, CEL needs to get me home and she said she'd see what she can do - that was three weeks ago.  (I believe the issue is in their code - the pages on the app shown first do not consider the date change from the Int'l Date Line.  Code is reading start date of cruise + cruise length (15SEP+14 days=29SEP when it needs to add a day when travelling westbound of the Dateline which whould show the 30th.  The main code considers this.)  Not my job to verify dates in all different locations to ensure their code is correct!  Anyway, will call to see if I can pay in full and see if any options are provided.  Anyone have suggestions on how to handle?  i agree that Celebrity is acting really wonky with these bookings - not their usual standard at all.

The decks which hold the Aqua cabins do not appear to have been impacted by this 'oversell'.

I cannot see the benefit of paying the cruise final balance early.

The airline ticket issue is down to you - JMO. You,not the cruiseline, purchased the ticket?? Caveat Emptor.

Annie

9 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

I like that.  How many merits did you guys come up with?

None ??

I live in Scotland and we can be very fussy re food quality as my American friends keep reminding me.

In England, they eat fish that we would not buy or even cook.

I advised her that I had to research what tilapia was and advised her we would not feed that to our cats - she laughed and revealed she did not care for tilapia. I then asked her why was it on a Celebrity menu??

It amuses my international cruising friends that I don't cruise to eat.  I can cook and eat very well in Scotland. 

Annie

6 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Most likely the retention department.  The executives do not have time to debate their cuts to dining with hundred of cruisers calling in.

 

An executive would have asked you how can we make this right and not had the time to debate the merits of tilapia.

I did not phone them; they phoned me !

They asked me to advise them a time slot that suited me.

Annie

13 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I never got a call back when I contacted Celebrity regarding the food changes in January.

 

Also many got a call back from the retention department ...  It is rather obvious the difference between the two.

Although I am not based in North America, I received multiple emails and phone calls from Celebrity after I too contacted them re the dining changes.

I was impressed.  The lady was polite, professional and most importantly she appeared to listen. We debated the reasons for the changes and I too received the corporate spin of reducing food waste.  I suggested that was spin to disguise staffing issues.  The merits of tilapia were also discussed.  She admitted she did not care for the fish and would not order it.

Annie

41 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

A few years ago, we spent about 2 weeks in Japan, including some major cities, and also some relatively off the beaten track.

 

In all but one case, our large bags were sent ahead, the evening before, so we just kept and used our carry-on, and then brought that with us.

The one place where we didn't do that was for the two nights we spent at a Buddhist Monastery.  So we had the large bags sent to the *next* place, and just used our overnights for the stay.

 

The service (forgetting its name) has a logo that includes a cat carrying a kitten by the scruff of its neck, and we had glimpses of those small trucks almost everywhere if we bothered to look and notice.

 

SO convenient!

The only other place I remember having that luxury without special arrangements was when we took the scenice (Oh SO scenic!) train from Oslo to Bergen.  Our bags were waiting for us in the hotel in Bergen.  Nice.

 

GC

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html

Takuhaibin service - 100% recommend.

12 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Totally agree however they may not be able to change/cancel.  The good news is they can arrive a few nights early and/or stay a few nights after the cruise

UK does not have refundable deposits.  A few days ?? - count weeks 🙂

11 minutes ago, stringbean10 said:

I mean....I guess. hahahaha - I just wouldn't choose to eat at a buffet when I could eat at a restaurant by a 3* Michelin chef.   

 

It just seems silly to me to to complain about reduced offerings on a dinner buffet when there are so many other great options available.  If they noticed the food waste was excessive and less than 100 people were using the buffet. It makes sense to cut costs here/reduce offerings.  These 100 people out of 3000+ are probably not the 'big spenders.'  They are never going to make everyone happy - they did the math.  

 

If they cut entertainment in some way, as some are suggesting, the folks who enjoy the shows would be up in arms.  I bet entertainment is a much more fixed cost and easier for the line to calculate vs. food cost right now. 

 

The folks complaining about it and claiming "never again". - just like they did when they took away turn down service, chocolates on the pillow, room service or added 'speciality restaurants' - won't leave.  And if they do, celebrity won't miss them.  

 

What is their other choice?  Have fun on your carnival 3 day out of Galveston with the free buffet with more options?  They are not the same product, they are not targeting the same audience.    

 

If you cancel and take your business else where, I am very curious as to where you are going to go.  Celebrity has stated they are targeting Gen X with the new edge ships.  I could just be you are aging out of celebrity's target market and may be much happier on HAL or Princess.  Just like a family may be aging into Celebrity - the only constant in this life is change. 

My next Celebrity cruise is a Japanese itinerary.  If I cancel, I will replace with a land tour with luggage sent ahead etc. Carnival 3 day ex Galveston doesn't quite cut it.  I agree though not the same market,

Sorry I know I am British but what is this obsession with Prime Rib?? Is it status related??

Possibly LLP is trying to wean you off beef on environmental grounds?? 😉

You can keep your tilapia.  Not aware of having eaten it but I don't like the sound of it.

4 hours ago, swigso said:

We used a similar promo some years ago, and it was the first time we had ever arrived and departed on the day of a cruise.Everything went very smoothly.

I have checked my old files and the plane arrived at FCO around 13-15.

Celebrity staff were waiting they directed us to leave our cases and the coaches 

were waiting out side the airport. We were on board by 3-30 and it all went well.

please also remember that you are using Flights by Celebrity and most passengers will be sailing and if there are any delays they will hold the ship or should do.

IMHO you will be fine.

That is the Coronation weekend?? Bank holiday??

Celebrity are possibly trying to organise a charter although they used BA a lot for flights ex LGW/LHR

The very fact he has posed the question, indicates to me he is not comfortable with the timings. 

To arrive at FCO by noon with clock changes, would require a flight to depart LGW/LHR by 0900.

I have done it successfully in the past but doubt I would repeat given the airport disruption in the UK last spring/summer. 

If vacation time and budget permits, I would add on 3 days to the trip for a pre-Rome city break.

Annie

2 hours ago, UKLloyd said:

Fantastic that this appears to be sorted now. 
 

Those new fares however, Wow. That is a very large increase. 
 

Thankfully we are deposited, However wow, That seems to be a huge increase. 

You are not kidding.

Pricing on Celebrity is telephone numbers as we say.  So pleased my pricing is locked for my Japanese cruise later this year.

6 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 I think you maybe reading that wrong. So far my interaction with the staff has been 10/10. There is bar service everywhere. Cafe Biaco service was exceptional and my room steward squeegeed the water off my balcony floor. Absolutely no complaints. Service has been stellar. 

I was remarking on OVC staff only.  In the pictures, they don't look happy.

Thanks for the photographs and taking the time to post.

That is better - not in my book.

This selection in the OVC is a deal breaker for me and as I eat at least 80% time in OVC, Celebrity is off my preferred cruise line list unless they reverse this decision.

Just an observation but the staff don't look happy.

7 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

The Asian stations always seem like a good idea but it always seems to bother me.  Perhaps too much sodium or MSG

On my last Celebrity cruise pre-covid, they couldn't cook even a simple dal well and that is not hard.  On a Millie cruise, they served 'pakora' in OVC - awful.