Merriem

In the end safety is the most important thing.

 

I am reminded that if any of us had a medical issue we would want the ship to put our well being at the very top when it comes to these types of decisions.

 

Keith

Of course a medical issue takes the first concern. Never said it didn't. I know there was a thread about passengers over 70 not allowed on some tours...maybe they should look at the medical history and health of some of these passengers.

Just because you signed up for a cruise that said you will to go to A, B , C and D - it does not guarantee you will make those ports.

I just read the fine print on our cruise documents for solstice on 30 March and it said (words to the effect of) "Celebrity cannot guarantee they can make every port / destination on our cruise...."

The Captain put the safety of passengers first - and so they should have....

 

put yourself in the shoes of the persons family... what if it were your family member on the cruise that was very sick and needed urgent medical treatment... what would you think if the captian said "sorry we've got passengers on board who paid good money for this cruise and they want to see Milford, Dusky and Doubtful Sounds - so you'll have to wait until we get to Dunedin...."

We have cruised about 50 times and are well aware of the contract. This has nothing to do about the welfare of the passenger ...and the fact that the announcement was made during the night in our cabin...it is about choices. $$$$ over passengers wishes. Have you ever spent this much money on a cruise???just curious.

Hi merriem.

 

Totally understand your frustration. We were on the solstice about 6 weeks ago when a cyclone was tracking towards fjord land. The captain raced back to Sydney early in an attempt to outrun the cyclone which he did. Although we completely missed Dunedin and all of fjordland we considered he made the right call due to the safety of the passengers.

We also were very disappointed missing the South Island being our first cruise to nz however have moved on, we booked a similar cruise for 2019 hoping that we will see what we missed. Know how you feel but try to get over it,:)

Well I understand your situation with a cyclone. Obviously that was the right decision. I have emailed our TA to cancel the Feb 2019 Solstice cruise as we feel this was a tactical decision based on short term profits vs long term client loyalty.

We do, but they are mainly kept in the capital city, so you would have had to turn around to Melbourne in any case. It may have been quicker because of where the dock is to actually dock and take them to the nearest hospital at that time of night rather than go through the helicopter procedure. One of the main hospitals is only minutes away from the dock.

 

The planes we use are part of the Royal Flying Doctors Service.

Thank you for the insightful information

This is speculation as someone that lives in country Victoria who HAS been medivaced to Melbourne because of a stroke.

The incident occurred out at sea, around South East Gippsland, possibly Sale, who if they are anything like us do NOT have a helicopter. When we get medivaced a plane has to come from Melbourne to us who then take us back to Melbourne.

Even if there was something that could collect the patient from the ship (which would delay you by a few hours) the patient would then probably be flown to Melbourne anyway so would be medivaced so your argument is null and void.

 

The patient has had a medical evacution which is what medivac is short for.

 

We were on the Solstice in 2016 and there were 4 separate medivacs on that trip for 5 patients. 2 were at Dunedin, one before we were due to arrive and the other an hour after we left, 1 just outside of Wellington which took a few hours and one 2 hours out of Adelaide when we had to turn back. Even though we docked for the first Dunedin one it is still a medivac.

I guess different terms for different countries. Does Australia not have helicopters that can come out to a ship? Just curious. Thank you for your insightful information

Just for your information, I will be 70 in a couple of months.

 

And I’ve learned through my own experiences, that life isn’t perfect...things go wrong...and to always be grateful that I have the means and ability to be able to cruise. I’m not new to cruising whatsoever. And have experienced missed ports, due to a variety of reasons.

 

 

 

 

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For your information I am 73 and we just had our 49th anniversary. No life isn't perfect...look at our WH

It doesn’t matter why. Obviously the decision to return to port was made in the best interest of the ill passenger.

 

I just can’t comprehend the level of annoyance with people, these days.

“Ship” happens...

 

 

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I guess the level of irrritance comes down to time, how much you paid for the cruise and business class tickets, poor communication, and not getting what was advertised. You know I cannot comprehend the level of passivity of people today. Maybe when you get older you will GET IT

So all those passengers should also raise a petition to say that in the event of them taking ill necessitating a medevac they absolve the cruise line of any liability and wish to remain on board until the next scheduled port - Yeah right

This was not a medivac, the ship turned around and returned to port. This was one of many trips we have taken. We were actually scheduled to go in 2018, but 6 months prior I had a stroke and we didn't feel comfortable going so far away. Instead we went to Hawaii three times that winter.

This was one place we were really looking forward to. We will not be coming back..so I guess you could say it was " a trip of a lifetime"

We are not inexperience in problems at sea. On our very first cruise in 1980 a lady with cancer had to be taken in a lifeboat to a remote island and was picked up by the coast guard. As I previously mentioned in South America a passenger became ill after we left the Faulkland Islands and we went directly to Ushuaia so they could get her off the ship. Our only thoughts were hopefully she had evacuation insurance.

I would like to know why the ship made such a drastic measure as to return to port? Is the heli pad adequate?

noun

• 1.
  the evacuation of military or other casualties to the hospital in a helicopter or airplane.
   
   
  
   
  

verb

• 1.
  transport (someone) to the hospital in a helicopter or airplane.
  "the helicopter pilot who medevacked me the day I got shot"
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
   
  
   
  

Whoa whoa whoa. Nobody is implying that RCL is legally obligated to provide compensation or anything like that. Clearly under their T&C they are not. What we were saying is that we were accustomed to travel providers (such as Delta airlines) who go well above and beyond their T&C for their elites and do something a little special to make up for any unfortunate schedule deviations. Nothing extravagant, just a little show of good faith that says "we value our loyal guests". Those kinds of customer service experiences keep loyal elites loyal.

I agree with you. Compensation never crossed my mind. I just got off the elevator and apparently there is a petition going around on the ship about missing the fiords. That was news to me.

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I think the posters here who are upset (and my fellow cruisers who aren't on CC to post but are still upset) are not angry that the ship had to go back to AU for the medical emergency. These things happen and we have every sympathy for the ill guest and best wishes for a speedy recovery. I think they are angry that other ports were prioritized for keeping over the day in the sound. And I assume that is because for many, such as myself and my husband, the main draw of this particular cruise was the sound. If it were up to me I'd definitely skip one of the NZ ports over skipping the sound. So yeah, it is frustrating, especially bc it is easier in the future to schedule a flight back to the main area of NZ to see whatever port city we might have missed but arranging a tour of the fjords is more difficult - it needs to be seen by boat really. I do thank the person who pointed out that if we headed for the fjords we would get there at night and either not see anything or have to hang out till morning (putting us even further behind schedule). That lends a bit of rational for skipping the fjords over a port further down the line. But it is still a bummer and I think it would be a good show of faith for Celebrity to offer some sort of compensation for the missed experience. A small OBC on this cruise or a future booking for example. A small expenditure on their part ($100OBC per suite cabin for example?) would go a long way toward soothing people's irritation over this and keep them loyal to Celebrity. We just booked 3 future cruises with the parent company (2 on Azamara and 1 on Celebrity) and I'd think they'd do their best to keep our expectations met. But when I broached the subject with the staffer who mans the desk in the captain's club she was very clear and brusk- no compensation of any kind. :mad::mad::mad:

Very well said.

You are making an assumption that the reason they made that choice was to make more money. Perhaps you are right. But then perhaps you are not. Perhaps they made it because they needed to keep to schedule as much as possible or it would mess up a lot of other things for them. Perhaps they made it because hundreds of people on tours at the next port would be very disappointed if they missed it. Perhaps this is an area (like in Alaska) where they need to schedule ahead of time so they can coordinate with other ships so cruising the fjords was no longer an option. Perhaps they made it because they did not have enough fuel to still cruise the fjords and safely get to the next port (this is a real possibility by the way). There are many, many possibilities neither you nor I could really know. It stinks and I feel for you, but assuming the worst only makes you angry in addition to disappointed, and you may not even be correct in your assumption.

Not being a cheerleader for any cruiseline, I am stating my opinion and that of many passengers. We had booked this over a year ago. When our young dog had a ruptured disc and became paralyzed it was a big decision if we should still go. After speaking with the physical therapist and our dog sitter learning the at home excercises, we decided to still go. Frankly this is not the only issue, and We have seen great changes and cost cutting in the last year on Celebrity. As I said, this is my opinion, and you are certainly entitled to yours.

What if the medical emergency happened to you or your DH?

 

 

 

 

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Missing the point again. The passenger has been taken care of and of course that was of upmost importance.

this is about a decision made by Celebrity..tours = money. cruising the fiords = 000000

like all US passengers this was a long trip and to many we will miss the best part. They made the choice.

Like its their fault, get out the fire retardant suit.

You are missing the point. The fiords make them no money. The tours do. My husband was speaking with other people who were equally upset. They have a choice on where to go, and obviously the $$$$$ is the determining factor.

We had some kind of medical emergency and the ship had to turn around and go back to Melbourne. We are back to the New Zealand crossing this morning. We probably lost 12 hours. Not sure how it will change the itinerary.

I am glad they took care of that passenger, but cannot believe that we will not be going through the fiords. That was just announced. Shame on celebrity. They are going where the tours are so they don't loose any money.

Time to cancel Feb 2019 New Zealand cruise with them, and find another line as obviously their for profit tours are more important than seeing the most beautiful part of New Zealand.

Never done NCL so no comparison here.

 

What I would like to point out (which may or may not be of use to you) is if you book a ‘higher’ suite, Royal Suite or Penthouse Suite you have additional perks as well as those already mentioned. (Also Signature Suites and Reflection Suite on Reflection).

 

These include unlimited free access to the speciality restaurants, free laundry, in suite complementary bar set up (2l bottles of spirit of your own choice), minibar filled daily with beers, soda and water, a premium drinks package and free internet. The rooms are also obviously bigger...it depends on what you want out of your suite experience as to whether you feel the extra cost is worthwhile....

We were in higher suites in both...NCL was better just considering the Haven.

Did the celebrity cruise care, and added AMEX insurance where you can beef up the medical and the evacuation. It was only $100 extra, and added a lot of coverage.

I would give it a try and see for yourself. I notice on Celebrity, and honestly when people posted the comments about cutting costs lately, I didn't believe it. Now I do. I am convinced that the drinks are watered down. One of the crew did confirm that mixed drinks are a shot, not a pour. I enjoy a good cosmopolitan and had one in michaels club and the suite restaurant and both times they were poor. Our regular waiter in the suite restaurant makes them for me and they are quite good. Reminds me of an all inclusive in Mexico where you could drink all day and walk a straight line.

There are no afternoon treats delivered to your cabin unless you specifically ask. The first day I called michaels club and was told we had to come down there for them. That was nuts. We do get something delivered to the cabin in the afternoon now.

The suite restaurant is good, and you can order off the regular menu if you wish. The staff there is very pleasant and they do an excellent job.

The suite..for what this royal suite cost it is nothing like the DOS we had on the Breakaway. The fridge had to be removed as the compressor was going out, and the two sinks in the bathroom would not close and the water would just run out. So more things that had to be taken care of. I will say our room steward is excellent.

So strictly from a suite point of view, NCL did it better in the haven, but there are too many people on those mega ships and the smoking is an issue.

Just my two cents. Celebrity is not a party boat which we also prefer. If I were ask, Celebrity needs to beef up their "suite life" for these prices.

Merriem, I guess we have a different definition of Robocalls. We have indeed had a couple of messages from the MC Concierge about events that day. I'm not really annoyed by these messages as they are more of a courtesy call to her guests, not the whole ship. If I got a marketing message from Shore excursions or something like that for the whole ship trying to sell me something I would define that as a Robocall. Anyway one can always just hit delete.

My definition of a robo call is a pre-recorded message. That is what all three were until I ask them to be stopped. IMHO .

We are off the coast of Australia now, and I use wifi calling. Very convenient and free

Merriem - we are on the same cruise of course but have not had any Robo Calls at all.

That is interesting as I think we are practically neighbors.

That was why I asked about the nature of her three calls, wondering if they are true indiscriminate robot calls blanketing the whole ship or more directed calls to specific passengers.

Had one from shore excursions, and two from the michaels club concierge. The first was selling excursions, and the other two were also recordings. If you have something to say, please do not send me a recording. Very impersonal.

I do not like the robocalls. The blinking light always brings me back to reality (I care for aging parents). Did you have luck getting all robocalls stopped? If so, how did you go about it?

Yes, I called the suite manager and she took care of it. We don't even have a phone in our house, just cell phones so I can block or just turn the volume off. It's like being on the "do not call list" and getting those spam calls. Personally I think this is new since my last celebrity cruise and should be stopped. Unsolicited calls are a real nuisance.

That would be horrible.

Is this something new? Very annoying. On the Solstice, and had 3 robo calls in less than 24 hours. Two came from the concierge during the night, and one during the day from shore excursions. Wake up to red blinking message lights..had to call to the front office to get them stopped.

Have never experienced this before.

I am on the solstice right now and it says LONG SLEEVE SPORT SHIRT, for Smart Casual.