Death in Family and Premature Disembarkation

We were so looking forward to our first ocean cruise and our brief time aboard the Celebrity Solstice exceeded all our expectations.

Sadly, a death in the family forced an early end to our planned 2 week vacation after just 4 days.

Our Concierge was sympathetic and very helpful arranging our prompt disembarkation after docking in Hobart, assuring us all cancellations would be handled.

It was therefore very disappointing to be charged the full amount for the remainder of our specialty restaurant bookings and drinks package upon the ship docking in Auckland on 9 December.

Equally disappointing was the e-mail received from Celebrity Guest Relations Leadership Team 30 days after our premature disembarkation in Hobart inviting me to take a short survey regarding my most recent interaction with a staff member from the Post Cruise Customer Relations Team. I had no interaction with anyone from Post Cruise Customer Relations.

Most disappointing, however, is Celebrity's continued silence 2 months after forwarding them the funeral notice and assuring our premature disembarkation was indeed due to the passing of my mother and certainly not a reflection of our on board experience.

Is it too much to ask for acknowledgement of our circumstances? A consideration for future bookings?

Has anyone else experienced similar misfortune? How did Celebrity respond?

We were so looking forward to our first ocean cruise and our brief time aboard the Celebrity Solstice exceeded all our expectations.

 

Sadly, a death in the family forced an early end to our planned 2 week vacation after just 4 days.

 

Our Concierge was sympathetic and very helpful arranging our prompt disembarkation after docking in Hobart, assuring us all cancellations would be handled.

 

It was therefore very disappointing to be charged the full amount for the remainder of our specialty restaurant bookings and drinks package upon the ship docking in Hobart on 9 December.

 

Equally disappointing was the e-mail received from Celebrity Guest Relations Leadership Team 30 days after our premature disembarkation in Hobart inviting me to take a short survey regarding my most recent interaction with a staff member from the Post Cruise Customer Relations Team. I had no interaction with anyone from Post Cruise Customer Relations.

 

Most disappointing, however, is Celebrity's continued silence 2 months after forwarding them the funeral notice and assuring our premature disembarkation was indeed due to the passing of my mother and certainly not a reflection of our on board experience.

 

Is it too much to ask for acknowledgement of our circumstances? A consideration for future bookings?

Has anyone else experienced similar misfortune? How did Celebrity respond?

I am so sorry for your loss and I'm sorry to hear of your unfortunate situation with Celebrity. This is not acceptable.

I would suggest that you contact the executive office, I believe it is now called OneTouch@celebrity.com. Explain your situation and request assistance in an unfortunate situation. By the way, if you charged your beverage package, excursions, etc. on your credit card, you can put those charges into a dispute with your credit card company. The law states that you do not have to pay for goods or services you have not received. Good luck.

And, yes, I had a similar situation when my husband and I were made to disembark 4 days into our 15 day cruise on the Eclipse. I was told that once you step foot on a ship the full fare and all other charges are non-refundable.

Good luck.

Sorry for your loss, it is unfortunate that this happened. The specialty restaurants only need 24/48 hour notice to cancel so celebrity need to take care of those. We take out travel insurance for other eventualities however it is worth speaking to your credit card company.

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We were so looking forward to our first ocean cruise and our brief time aboard the Celebrity Solstice exceeded all our expectations.

 

Sadly, a death in the family forced an early end to our planned 2 week vacation after just 4 days.

 

Our Concierge was sympathetic and very helpful arranging our prompt disembarkation after docking in Hobart, assuring us all cancellations would be handled.

 

It was therefore very disappointing to be charged the full amount for the remainder of our specialty restaurant bookings and drinks package upon the ship docking in Auckland on 9 December.

 

Equally disappointing was the e-mail received from Celebrity Guest Relations Leadership Team 30 days after our premature disembarkation in Hobart inviting me to take a short survey regarding my most recent interaction with a staff member from the Post Cruise Customer Relations Team. I had no interaction with anyone from Post Cruise Customer Relations.

 

Most disappointing, however, is Celebrity's continued silence 2 months after forwarding them the funeral notice and assuring our premature disembarkation was indeed due to the passing of my mother and certainly not a reflection of our on board experience.

 

Is it too much to ask for acknowledgement of our circumstances? A consideration for future bookings?

Has anyone else experienced similar misfortune? How did Celebrity respond?

Did you have Ins? CEL or 3rd party?

Sorry to hear of your loss . My mom passed suddenly while we we on a nine day Caribbean cruise on RCL and we had to disembark on morning five in St. Maarten. Luckily my wife had purchased travel insurance. After informing them of our trip interruption and filing all the forms and documents we were reimbursed for the four days we were not onboard and airfares from St. Maarten to San Juan to Newark NJ . This did take about two months but we did get it back. The best RCL could do was convey their condolences and say "hope to see you soon on your next cruise". Travel insurance saved the day.....

Whilst I appreciate it is a very sad time to loose a parent having lost both of mine in their early 60's the OP has posted for the first time to condemn Celebrity Cruises. As other posters have said Insurance should cover all these re-imbursement unless there was a pre-existing condition. As we don't know where the OP is from and there are different rules for different countries it is hard to advise him/her.

We were so looking forward to our first ocean cruise and our brief time aboard the Celebrity Solstice exceeded all our expectations.

 

Sadly, a death in the family forced an early end to our planned 2 week vacation after just 4 days.

 

Our Concierge was sympathetic and very helpful arranging our prompt disembarkation after docking in Hobart, assuring us all cancellations would be handled.

 

It was therefore very disappointing to be charged the full amount for the remainder of our specialty restaurant bookings and drinks package upon the ship docking in Auckland on 9 December.

 

Equally disappointing was the e-mail received from Celebrity Guest Relations Leadership Team 30 days after our premature disembarkation in Hobart inviting me to take a short survey regarding my most recent interaction with a staff member from the Post Cruise Customer Relations Team. I had no interaction with anyone from Post Cruise Customer Relations.

 

Most disappointing, however, is Celebrity's continued silence 2 months after forwarding them the funeral notice and assuring our premature disembarkation was indeed due to the passing of my mother and certainly not a reflection of our on board experience.

 

Is it too much to ask for acknowledgement of our circumstances? A consideration for future bookings?

 

Has anyone else experienced similar misfortune? How did Celebrity respond?

I Am so sorry for your loss and sudden departure from the ship for which you were so looking forward to.

Unfortunately, based on the T&C's of X, you are not entitled to any consideration for leaving the cruise early. Now it is not unheard of that X makes some accommodations, what they are vary on a case by case basis. X most likely has someone who only reviews these situations and responds accordingly, with thousands of passengers boarding each week, along with crew with such situations, they may work the most serious ones first and move down the list, this is not to say yours is not as worthy to respond to ASAP. Based on the numbers and no injury to a passenger it likely is not considered urgent enough for a 'quick' response.

I would not even to begin to take a guess as to how many people have to dis-embark for this very reason, amongst others, weekly. Not everyone can or will receive any consideration for this situation, it happens regularly I suspect.

As others has indicated, your travel insurance will cover most of the non-refundable costs associated with this sad situation. As much as I do not advocate it, even X's insurance provides credit towards a future sailing, with conditions, your situation would possibly qualify for some type of re-imbursement under any other third party policy.

Also, which country you live in will also determine what your coverage contains. If in fact you did have travel insurance, you may want to post on the Insurance board to get some help with what might by covered in your situation.

Our prayers are with you and your family... bon voyage

Whilst I appreciate it is a very sad time to loose a parent having lost both of mine in their early 60's the OP has posted for the first time to condemn Celebrity Cruises. As other posters have said Insurance should cover all these re-imbursement unless there was a pre-existing condition. As we don't know where the OP is from and there are different rules for different countries it is hard to advise him/her.

The OP states this was their first cruise, so not surprising it is their first post. If this happened to me, I would be a bit unhappy with Celebrity as well, particularly as regards not refunding specialty restaurant reservations and the like. Sounds like they are looking for some general advice on whether this is normal and what to do next. I prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt.

We had a similar situation on Celebrity Solstice New Zealand cruise but found Celebrity to be outstanding. They did everything I could have asked for at that terrible time. Before we left the ship we requested them to cancel our bookings & we were not charged. We were given a Future Cruise Certificate for the unused portion of the Cruise. May I suggest you contact Captains Club & ask them to follow up.

We had a similar situation on Celebrity Solstice New Zealand cruise but found Celebrity to be outstanding. They did everything I could have asked for at that terrible time. Before we left the ship we requested them to cancel our bookings & we were not charged. We were given a Future Cruise Certificate for the unused portion of the Cruise. May I suggest you contact Captains Club & ask them to follow up.

Future cruise certificates? How far were you into the cruise and did you have Celebrity cruise protection?

Sorry for your loss.

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We cruised from Sydney & Melbourne then had to disembark at our first port in New Zealand being Dunedin. This happened 4 years ago so perhaps 'rules' are different today. We had no cover thru Celebrity & our Travel Insurance excluded any claim because of my Mother's age. The Future Cruise Certificate provided $'s towards a future cruise and equated to our unused portion of the cruise which would have been approximately 50%.There were other ways that Celebrity helped too - booked emergency airfares, provided international phone calls, assisted with disembarkation, booked taxi, helped disembark quickly etc & the staff were most compassionate. We can only speak from experience.

Goodness! I’ll need to check my insurance policy! I’d never heard of a policy not paying due to the age of a parent! My father is 88.

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First let me express condolences for your loss. The address given in post #2 is incorrect and should read CelebrityOneTouch@Celebrity.com. There was a thread about a similar situation not too long ago on here with very different outcomes, but I suspect as Bo said that each case is handled differently. Try calling or emailing (calling may get a more prompt outcome). As for the survey you received it was likely automatically computer generated. Often when I've called Celebrity for help with an issue I receive a survey (computer generated) asking me to evaluate the person I spoke with and the customer service experience.

Thanks to all who replied.

Our travel insurance specifically excluded cover for over 80 yeas of age and our early curtailment claim was rejected on that basis.

But my faith in Celebrity Cruises has been restored. Full credit for the unused portion of our cruise we can use for a future booking in the next 2 years.

Very satisfied with the outcome!

Thanks to all who replied.

 

Our travel insurance specifically excluded cover for over 80 yeas of age and our early curtailment claim was rejected on that basis.

 

But my faith in Celebrity Cruises has been restored. Full credit for the unused portion of our cruise we can use for a future booking in the next 2 years.

 

Very satisfied with the outcome!

Sorry for your loss and glad it all worked out to your satisfaction.

Sorry for your loss.

Glad you got a satisfactory resolution with Celebrity.

Best wishes for a wonderful future cruise.

Whilst I appreciate it is a very sad time to loose a parent having lost both of mine in their early 60's the OP has posted for the first time to condemn Celebrity Cruises. As other posters have said Insurance should cover all these re-imbursement unless there was a pre-existing condition. As we don't know where the OP is from and there are different rules for different countries it is hard to advise him/her.

I agree. In the UK our travel ins would cover this

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Thanks to all who replied.

 

 

 

Our travel insurance specifically excluded cover for over 80 yeas of age and our early curtailment claim was rejected on that basis.

 

 

 

But my faith in Celebrity Cruises has been restored. Full credit for the unused portion of our cruise we can use for a future booking in the next 2 years.

 

 

 

Very satisfied with the outcome!

So pleased

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Thanks to all who replied.

 

Our travel insurance specifically excluded cover for over 80 yeas of age and our early curtailment claim was rejected on that basis.

 

But my faith in Celebrity Cruises has been restored. Full credit for the unused portion of our cruise we can use for a future booking in the next 2 years.

 

Very satisfied with the outcome!

So happy to hear! Given time (and a little encouragement) I believe Celebrity does the 'right thing'. We had an experience in the past in which X was so totally helpful. Sorry for your loss. Having this to deal with afterward certainly wouldn't help your healing.

Sorry for your loss. The cruise lines owes you nothing for the cruise fare as others have said once you step on the ship your face is considered as due in full. Based upon not having cruise insurance. But you should check with the credit card company because you may have some coverage from them.

While the cruise lines owes no consideration to you for a future cruise many times they have done something as guest good will. You are entitled to a refund of the unused daily service charge, the drink package, and the up charge dinning you did not use, as long as not within post 24 hours of leaving.

While is was a bad trip for you I would hope you consider a future trip.

Sorry for your loss. The cruise lines owes you nothing for the cruise fare as others have said once you step on the ship your face is considered as due in full. Based upon not having cruise insurance. But you should check with the credit card company because you may have some coverage from them.

 

While the cruise lines owes no consideration to you for a future cruise many times they have done something as guest good will. You are entitled to a refund of the unused daily service charge, the drink package, and the up charge dinning you did not use, as long as not within post 24 hours of leaving.

 

While is was a bad trip for you I would hope you consider a future trip.

Did you even read this?

Originally posted by Thermo55 Thanks to all who replied.

Our travel insurance specifically excluded cover for over 80 yeas of age and our early curtailment claim was rejected on that basis.

But my faith in Celebrity Cruises has been restored. Full credit for the unused portion of our cruise we can use for a future booking in the next 2 years.

Very satisfied with the outcome!

We were so looking forward to our first ocean cruise and our brief time aboard the Celebrity Solstice exceeded all our expectations.

 

Sadly, a death in the family forced an early end to our planned 2 week vacation after just 4 days.

 

Our Concierge was sympathetic and very helpful arranging our prompt disembarkation after docking in Hobart, assuring us all cancellations would be handled.

 

It was therefore very disappointing to be charged the full amount for the remainder of our specialty restaurant bookings and drinks package upon the ship docking in Auckland on 9 December.

 

Equally disappointing was the e-mail received from Celebrity Guest Relations Leadership Team 30 days after our premature disembarkation in Hobart inviting me to take a short survey regarding my most recent interaction with a staff member from the Post Cruise Customer Relations Team. I had no interaction with anyone from Post Cruise Customer Relations.

 

Most disappointing, however, is Celebrity's continued silence 2 months after forwarding them the funeral notice and assuring our premature disembarkation was indeed due to the passing of my mother and certainly not a reflection of our on board experience.

 

Is it too much to ask for acknowledgement of our circumstances? A consideration for future bookings?

Has anyone else experienced similar misfortune? How did Celebrity respond?

Our prayers for your mother, Obviously the cancellations to the specialty restaurants were not made, I do not know if the package of drinks is canceled after the cruise started, will exists a refund for the part not used. I can talk to you is the nightmare to get the refund of an internet package canceled 75 days before the cruise started. There were several calls, emails, fill out forms, etc. A day before the sail I was promised that in 7 days I would be reimbursed in my CC, which did not happen, on board I had to go to the guest relations to put my complaint, they spoke to MIami and another lie the operator promised that in 24 hours would be in reimbursement, it was until my second request in the last port of call ,relations with the client spoke to Miami again and at that moment the reimbursement was made. There is no justification this things happen, When you and your family are in the wake of your deceased, instead of giving funeral condolences, they send a survey of satisfaction is the worst they could do.

Our prayers for your mother, Obviously the cancellations to the specialty restaurants were not made, I do not know if the package of drinks is canceled after the cruise started, will exists a refund for the part not used. I can talk to you is the nightmare to get the refund of an internet package canceled 75 days before the cruise started. There were several calls, emails, fill out forms, etc. A day before the sail I was promised that in 7 days I would be reimbursed in my CC, which did not happen, on board I had to go to the guest relations to put my complaint, they spoke to MIami and another lie the operator promised that in 24 hours would be in reimbursement, it was until my second request in the last port of call ,relations with the client spoke to Miami again and at that moment the reimbursement was made. There is no justification this things happen, When you and your family are in the wake of your deceased, instead of giving funeral condolences, they send a survey of satisfaction is the worst they could do.

They posted that they got full credit for the unused portion of their cruise.

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Sadly, given the size of ships it wouldn't surprise me if at least once a cruise a passenger(s) have to disembark early to due to a serious family illness or bereavement. All cruise lines therefore should have the process of refunds / credit / restaurant package cancellations fine tuned and ready to run at the press of a button.