sanger727

5 hours ago, Andy&Mary Reno said:

I am surprised by the Celebrity Cheer Squad.  So not to ruin your Day don't read  the rest of the post.

We filed today in Federal court, some of the main issue to be addressed  1)  False / misleading advertising. Failure to disclose required truth in lending disclosures.  and 4 other causes of action. The "contract" will be deemed Null & void.  You cant enforce a contract that was presented  after transaction initiated.  I will post when I get updates and as when case progresses. Other than that, Happy Cruising. stay safe.  

Good luck with that. Yes, please post updates. I'm no attorney, but have filed civil litigation in federal court and know just how time consuming and expensive that is. Our attorney took our case on contingency; but to file the suit in federal court she required us to pay close to $1,000 for the filing. 

My opinion:

NCL has better entertainment 

Celebrity has better food

NCL’s specialty dining are more affordable

Celebrity’s specialty dining and drinks are better

biggest difference in my mind is freestyle cruising 

celebrity has my time dining. NCL is all freestyle so there are less wait times

I agree that a land based trip would be best. Your mom can take a cruise as a different trip. You need NCL to make a new manifest and handle immigration issues. I believe they routinely deny these requests.

14 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

You can paint your own toenails, change your own oil, air fry your own mini corn dogs, etc., as well, but sometimes it's nice to have somebody else do it.

I work out daily and shower twice a day when it’s hot out. If I’m going to spend cruise ship prices it won’t be for something that lasts 12 hours.

12 minutes ago, alexandria said:

If I wasn't going to accept a case, I would never agree to send a letter or take any other action where it could be inferred that I had undertaken representation of the aggrieved party (or that even had the appearance of such).  Nor would I send such a letter unless I had investigated the allegations, reviewed the applicable statutes and cases, and determined that there was a legitimate basis to support the legal position that is being asserted. 

 

An attorney who would send a demand letter to a potential defendant without being engaged to represent the potential plaintiff and without doing sufficient due diligence is asking for trouble.  Additionally, a client who has unreasonable and unrealistic expectations about "their case" and only wants to pay you a few hundred dollars to send a letter is a red flag for a potential bar complaint when that letter fails to achieve the client's desired results.  Nothing good can come of that for an attorney and I don't know of a single attorney that would agree to such a request.  But, I suspect there are some lawyers out there who are so desperate for a fee of a few hundred dollars, that they would be happy to send a letter to Celebrity.  The likelihood that a letter from such a lawyer would generate anything other than a boilerplate "go pound sand" reply from Celebrity is very, very slim.

 

 

I work in the government. People sue their employer often. The attorneys almost always take the cases on commission. You would think that would mean they have some confidence in the case; but they lose as often as they win. 🤷‍♀️

29 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I was a secretary.  I know how to transfer a phone call from person A to person B.  Maybe a billion dollar cruise ship doesn’t have that capability.  Duh.

I had to call Hilton recently about a reservation.

call 1. Used the number on the website and chose option for ‘existing reservations’. Lady told me to call back and choose any option except reservation 

call 2. Called same number back. ‘New reservations’ and ‘existing reservations’ were the only option. Pushed zero and got transferred to someone that said I needed to call back and choose ‘reservation’. when I told her I did that she told me that those calls get re-routed to a call service so to just keep trying it back until I get to the right dept

call 3. Finally got through to the hotel directly and got help.

so no, it’s more complicated in multi-billionaire dollar company 

58 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

I always get a shampoo and blowout every cruise.  

For me that would be the worst possible way to spend money. I can shampoo and blow out my own hair. 

Start at 9 should mean that you meet for the excursion at 9. Whether that is on or off the boat. But 5 hours means that you should be at the drop off point 2. You should be able to do both as long as you don’t expect a long break in between. You may be dropped off at the port at 2 but have to get back on and to the meeting point by 3:15.

2 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

That's kind of an interesting question. I'm assuming you've sailed in the Retreat? What we've always found was that the bar was stocked the first day with a good mix of liquor and wine, probably all in the premium package, but some may well have been above the limit. There were never prices, so no one paid attention (kind of like an AMEX Centurion Lounge at the airport). Pretty much after saying hello and taking your drink order, the bartender universally stated if there's something you want that's not here, I'll get it. I assume there was a practical limit on that (he wasn't going to get a Macallan 18, for instance), but I'm pretty sure he nibbled at the margins. I don't know that I ever asked for something, but I know I've benefited from things others asked for. Balvenie, Glenmorangie, etc. that I only got in the retreat so I really don't know if they were below the package price because I didn't look for them in a bar with a price list.

But when was that advertised as a retreat benefit? or was it just common practice. They are free to change common practice at any time. Not bait and switch. The retreat advertises complimentary drinks and the premium drinks package. It sounds like both of those are still provided. 

I'm traveling to an all inclusive in a couple weeks. They advertised all included drinks and food. Now, they also offer upgrades for additional cost. That doesn't mean they are no longer doing all included drinks and food. You can drink and eat all day and night long for free. Also not bait and switch.

3 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

We have taken MANY private excursions over the years from various sources such as Viator and Shore Excursions Group, and individual companies such as Cosol Tours in St Lucia,  Joe Banana Limos in Italy, and Harv & Marv Whale Watching in Alaska. The private tours have always been much better than the ship's tours and often less expensive.   We've never had an issue,  but we always have trip insurance to back us up.   

 

There are many reasons a port can be missed. Many have already been mentioned,  and another is if the ship has to divert due to a medical emergency.  I see the vendor's viewpoint as well regarding no refunds since many small businesses would be financially harmed by last minute cancelations.  Personally,  we would not hesitate to book an excursion from an external party as long as they've been around for a while and are highly rated, but we'd also ensure that the funds (and any possible trip interruption) are covered by our travel insurance.  We would have missed out on many extraordinary experiences if we'd restricted ourselves to excursions offered by the cruise lines.  We recently took a four cruise 47 day trip with 20+ ports and I think only two of our excursions were through one the cruise lines. 

It's really not an either/or choice with cruise line excursions and not risking excursion money. We haven't had a very difficult time finding private excursions that accept payment on the day of so you don't lose your payment if the ship misses the port. The bigger issue here is that this tour operator advertised payment on the day of. Then after the OP paid a deposit, they changed the terms and wanted full payment ahead of time. That would definitely rub me the wrong way.

If your adult son is eating in the steak house, then he will be charged the adult price. He may be able to get food from the child's menu if he doesn't want the steak house menu. 

On 12/25/2023 at 11:12 AM, Winemaker_1 said:

You're describing only one segment of the market - bargain hunters.   I think the number of complaints on this board from many Retreat or Suite passengers indicates that some Celebrity cruisers are not just bargain hunters.  Some may not want to be bothered (while on vacation) for a Sea Pass every time they want a drink.  I'm among the latter.  My first cruise with Celebrity is coming up and if I am pestered for a Sea Pass for $2.40 up-charges, they will never see me again.  I'm paying for a suite in part not to be bothered.

 

I'll add that what sticks in my craw more than anything is how Celebrity has moved the goal posts on what I purchased 5 months ago.  And they continue to do so.  I already have a negative view of Celebrity and I haven't yet boarded a ship.  

 

I've never had an airline tell me after buying the ticket that they will only transport me 90% of the distance.

When exactly did they promise any drink at any price would be free for suites? The retreat adds say that premium drinks are complimentary - the most logical way for them to handle that would be to not stock anything other than the included drinks. And in fact, I think the person who originally posted about the upcharges asked for a wine that they didn't plan to stock in the retreat. If you don't want to be bothered by $2 up charges, it seems easy enough to order from the premium list. 

2 hours ago, CruisinShips said:

It won't be too soon when we can stop reading these repetitive SS/no butler posts. The ironic part is that cruises continue to sell out well in advance, even as suite prices continue to rise.

 

People are "siding with the company" because we love cruising and we still find many reasons to patronize our preferred cruise lines.  When the negatives outweigh the positives, which apparently they have for some and haven't for most, people will stop posting here and move on.  Until then, people will continue to "side with the company".

I'm a bystander in all this. Celebrity suite prices have always been higher than I was willing to pay and I'm sure will continue to be in the future.

It is interesting, however, go back through old posts where people asked what exactly the butler did for them and what the use was. It seemed that many didn't use their butler other than to fill their fridge and bring preferred snacks. Now the world is ending that that benefit is self serve in the retreat lounge. It's hard to take people who want to argue that sky suites are a waste of money now that they have to get their own drinks when they still have the retreat sundeck, retreat lounge, and luminae. 

11 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

That's certainly true regarding the buses.  But whether or not there will be restroom stops is another issue.  Some people may get irritated by the stops, but others may be unable to take the tour without stops.   It would be helpful for all to know that detail of the itinerary, and someone onboard should have that information.  

bathroom stops are necessary on group tours. If you don't want any bathroom stops you really have to book private. I certainly don't want to get stuck on a bus with someone who peed their pants because the driver refused to stop because it annoyed people 😉 

This is the Celebrity thermal suite which is part of the spa:

The SEA Thermal Suite on Celebrity Edge | Celebrity Cruises

You get access if you book aqua class or purchase a pass

This is the Celebrity retreat which includes a sundeck, restaurant and lounge. It is only for guests staying in a suite. purchased passes are rarely available and are usually only available for people traveling in a non-suite room with others that are booked in suites:

The Retreat (celebritycruises.com)

1 minute ago, Pinboy said:

(A Compliment )--- YOU must be very convincing or the Attendant was ready for a break

 

 

 

 

I actually don't have this problem anywhere. There are tons of various situations where people complain about constantly being harassed or sales pitches. I rarely get them. I credit it to the fact that i have resting B___ face. 

Just now, EatonDoolittle said:

 

@Tina99 Here's where you avoid the sales pitch. Resist the urge to check off that you have insomnia, sore muscles and headaches (who over 40 doesn't 😁?). They analyze your concerns and then offer a product or service to alleviate it. Leave the complaint section of the questionnaire blank.   

I don't have a problem with the sales pitches. I tell them right away that I'm not interested and they stop.

We have found that the burden is on the customer to prove that an item is promised by the contract, not the other way around. We had a gym that we used to go to that convinced us to renew our contract early and then eliminated all finesses classes. When we argued with them that there was a contract breach, they gave us a copy and pointed out that the contract didn't guarantee fitness classes. It may have been and advertised service when we renewed - but it wasn't contractually guaranteed so it wasn't a breach of contract to eliminate them. There is always some standard contract language that the service provider can change what is offered at any time. 

18 hours ago, wardwhitty said:

Thank you all for the suggestions.  The reviews and the people at the vendor were all so positive that I have to believe we will be fine but with so much at risk I am getting very leery.  

I would be leery also. I wouldn't pay them ahead of time. They seem to be transparent about the fact that if you pay ahead of time it is non-refundable. If they originally advertised as cash upon arrival, I would offer them that. If they decline then I would cancel.

16 hours ago, Pinboy said:

So, you've always received a good sales pitch " ??

Definition of a good sales pitch:

You took advantage of " For this cruise only " discount and spent $$$ to smell good and look 20 yrs younger ?

Definition of a bad sales pitch:

A Sales Pitch where the Spa Attendant can't convince the client that his/ her back is etc, leg muscles feel etc, will look 20 years younger and is being offered a " For this cruise only discount " .

 

A good sales pitch offers products that you may be interested in and ends when requested. A bad sales pitch does not. 

On 12/25/2023 at 11:46 AM, zitsky said:

I see you’ve proved my point.  😂
 

No one visits South America or Southeast Asia? The people who live there may not appreciate your perspective.  😂

A vast majority of travelers never go to Bali, even those that visit SouthEast Asia. I seriously doubt many Indonesians are able to cruise given that the average salary there is less than $10,000 a year. I'm surprised that isn't common sense. If you aren't grateful for what you have, nothing here anyone says can change that.

Compare 20-35 million visitors a year to Thailand:

How Many Tourists Visit Thailand Each Year? – Thailand Trip Expert

compared to 1 million visitors to Bali:

Indonesia: foreign tourist arrivals to Bali 2023 | Statista

We love traveling during this time period. Caribbean/Bahamas cruises often have nice weather. Whether or not you can fly out of the area you live in January is another story. 

You should show up 10-15 minutes early. They usually have paperwork for you to fill out. You can then sit in a relaxation room until your procedure, but as mentioned, you won't have access to any additional spa areas. I've never experienced a bad sales pitch. When they first start, I tell them I'm not interested in purchasing product and they usually respect that. 

Missed/late ports can happen for reasons other than weather. There can be mechanical issues or a medical evacuation that cause itinerary changes. It's not likely, it is possible. This really comes down to how much you want to take that specific tour and your risk tolerance. 

It sounds like you are booking a private excursion. Those always carry risks if your ship misses the port. There are many reasons a ship can miss the port. My preference for private excursions is to books ones that either offer refunds if the ship misses the port or allow you to pay a small deposit upfront and the remainder upon arrival. Keep in mind, tour companies like this are primarily marketing towards people staying on the island. So, they don't necessarily have an interest in appealing towards cruise ship passengers.