Anchors Away

At last, we got the call from the travel agency. Waiting has been hard but the result is worth the wait. We were told we will have our $900 refund in five days. I am so relieved - well cautiously optimistic anyhow. We were originally told we would get a refund and then we were told we wouldn't. So I am hoping this one sticks.

Those of you who said it was a misunderstanding were exactly right. The travel agent said Celebrity misunderstood. You fellow cruise critics have been great. I appreciate your opinions, suggestions and just giving me the chance to voice my concerns. Thank you.

I can' t wait to start planning our replacement anniversary trip and I hope to see you on the deep blue seas soon.

Anchors Away

43 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Sounds like legal bs to me.  I was thinking that they had less of an obligation to the customer in the contract.

NMTraveller:

I am thinking the same thing. If they shortened the cruise but did not cancel it, I am concerned that may mean they don''t have to refund the deposit. There is a cruise still available to us that week, just not the one we booked. I am trying to keep a positive attitude until Wednesday but I am concerned. The email they sent doesn't have the word cancelled in it anywhere and I didn't even notice that until I re-read it today to answer questions people asked me here on this thread. I guess I have to wait and see.

25 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Since they have shortened  not cancelled your cruise what did the TA tell you the fare for the shortened cruise will be?  and are they offering any OBC  or FCC for sticking with the  shortened itinerary? 
I would think that everyone who was booked still has their original cabin until they advise X what they want to do.  
 

Since your can’t change your time off maybe you could stay a few days at a nice resort or spa before you board the shortened cruise; making lemonade out of lemons.

I wondered if our reservation would be automatically moved to the 4-day cruise so I signed on to my account on the Celebrity website. It says I have 0 reservations. Our travel agent didn't mention the price for the four day cruise so I researched it myself. Our original cabin has been booked by someone else but there is one similar cabin near it still available.

There has been no mention of a FCC at all but I imagine the $200 OBC offered in the email would be applicable if we rebook the four day cruise. Your suggestion of a resort stay before the shortened cruise is not a bad idea we may consider however the price for the 4-day cruise is much higher than a trip to the Bahamas is worth to me.

5 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Take a look at other cruise lines if you are tied to May 23.

We are researching other cruise lines and land based vacations to celebrate our anniversary. It may be on a tug boat or in a tent since Celebrity is sitting on $900.00 of our vacation money. 🤑

On a positive note, we are blessed this is the first time this has happened to us. We have been cruising together for 18 years. When I had a better job with more vacation time, we cruised twice a year and then my husband would take a third cruise with his kids and grandkids each year. So we have been fortunate to enjoy 18 years of vacations before we were unceremoniously uninvited by Celebrity. And we are only 6 years from retirement when our schedules will become flexible and a reschedule will not be a problem.

Of course we are hoping for the best possible outcome when we hear back from the travel agent sometime before Wednesday. I was just so surprised when I learned Celebrity could change our vacation plans and call our deposit nonrefundable.

Some of you have asked questions that made me go back and read the email we got notifying us of the change in itinerary. It is worded so oddly, I had to read it a couple of times. Here is what it says:

'Please be advised the Celebrity Equinox has been chartered for a 4-night sailing departing on May 27, 2020. Due to this charter, the 8-night Eastern Caribbean & Bahamas sailing departing May 23, 2020 has been shortened to a 4-night Bahamas cruise.'

Interesting that they use the word 'shortened' not 'cancelled'. This concerns me that they are playing word games in order to not refund our deposit. The email doesn't say our room is still reserved on the 4-night cruise, but it also doesn't say it isn't.

The next paragraph says that if we are interested in similar itineraries, they suggest moving our reservation to a 10-night Southern Caribbean cruise on May 13 or the same 8-night Caribbean itinerary we were on for June 6 or June 20. If we selected one of the three listed options, we would get a $300 on board credit and if we re-booked any other sailing the OBC would be $200.00.

Of course the problem is my inflexible work vacation. The week beginning May 23, 2020 is the only time I will have off until 2021. Unfortunately moving to one of their suggested alternatives or any other Celebrity cruise in 2020 is not an option unless my husband wants to travel alone.

I have done a little research on travel insurance and I don't see any mention of reimbursement for 'shortened'  vacations.

I appreciate those of you who suggested emailing the company. If the answer we receive is not good news, we will definitely email, call, write letters, etc. but I hope it doesn't come to this. I will let you know when we hear back concerning our deposit.

Thank you for all your input.

Anchors Away

In April 2019, we booked a eight night cruise aboard the Celebrity Equinox sailing on May 23, 2020 in celebration of our wedding anniversary. We paid our deposit and were informed it was nonrefundable. That was fine with us, we had no intention of cancelling. We were looking forward to this cruise vacation and to talking to our other cruise critic friends on the roll call as we counted down the months.

On Friday, October 4, 2019 we received an email from our Big Box Travel Agent that our cruise had been cancelled by Celebrity. They chartered the ship for four of our eight days to a group. I only get five vacation days a year and my request has been approved and locked in. Celebrity offered alternative options but since my vacation was already scheduled, the only one I could select would have been the Bahamas for the remaining four days of that week. It is a lot of trouble to pack and get to the port for a four day cruise to somewhere I don't want to visit again, especially since the remaining four days no longer included our anniversary.

On Saturday, October 5, we called our travel agency to request a refund. After talking to Celebrity, they told us we would have our $900.00 deposit refunded within ten days. When the deposit was not received, we called again today to check the status. Our travel agent said they had been told by Celebrity that our deposit was nonrefundable. Our problem has been turned over to a supervisor at the travel agency and we should hear back from them by Wednesday, October 23rd.

I can see Celebrity keeping my deposit if I had cancelled, but I didn't. They cancelled my anniversary vacation and to pour salt in the wound, they want to keep my money. I am still ready, willing and able to occupy my sunset verandah room for eight days beginning on May 23rd, but Celebrity took that option away. Why am I being penalized $900.00 in addition to a ruined anniversary vacation?

I have read posts from many unhappy cruisers whose trips got cancelled so a cruise line could accept a private charter. The revenue they make from these charters must be substantial if is worth all the ill will they generate. My husband and I believe in brand loyalty. We are diamond level cruisers with Royal Caribbean. Earlier this year we celebrated my husband's birthday in a Grand Suite on Royal Caribbean SOS. This debacle has us rethinking our loyalty and all future vacations. There are many vacations options in the world and if Celebrity thinks this is the way to treat loyal customers, it is definitely time to exercise those options.

Anchors Away