century 10/13 cruise cancelled in Nice

[CCAustin]

Just to pour more salt on the injury... well, for me at least.

Finally talk to the Celebrity rep. about my refunds again and they said they've refunded everything on the credit cards minus the airfare since they are still "reviewing" it.

The numbers I got from Celebrity doesn't match up to what I paid to the travel agent, they told me to take it up to my TA. So, I did...asked my TA about the $300 price differences and turned out that it's my agent's commission fee, which is not refundable. So, not only we aren't getting what we should get back from Celebrity, I am losing additional $300 to my travel agent. Can it suck more?

 

And Celebrity isn't refunding the full full cruiseship since we are forced to pay gratuities on the few nightmare days we spent on the ship! Don't get me wrong, I am happy to pay the staff for what they did or didn't do for us, but this should be Celebrity's problem for paying their staff.

 

Oh no : ( I am so sorry!

 

I, too don't mind the gratuities, but it did sort of make it seem like Celebrity was trying to nickel and dime us to death on top of everything else. I keep thinking- couldn't they have encouraged us to take the bottles of water from our staterooms for the bus ride? A small gesture, but they don't seem to get that all these "little things" just keep piling up and adding to the frustration. I'm not usually a big complainer, really : ), but this situation has just been too over the top. Seems every day brings another way they short me and add to MY bottom line of out of pocket. I keep waiting for the next insult...... I know many of you are feeling the same way, and lots of you have it so much worse!

[CCAustin]

We were travelling back to back Century cruises, the 10-13 and 10-25 sailngs. We have written twice to Guest Relations, with copies to Hanrahan and Fain, asking for full reimbursement. These letters have included copies of our bills and documentation regarding our sailings. We recently sent a third letter and documentation to Corp. Guest Relations, with a copy to Goldstein, RCI Ceo. To date we have received no response by letter, phone or email. Our confirmation letter from the ta clearly states; 26 day sailing, inc. air for two people, leaving 10-12 and returning Nov. 8th. By checking online, I have learned that we were reimbursed for the 10-13 sailing and our airfare, but we are still awaiting reimbursement for the 10-25 sailing. When we attempted to make arrangements onboard, via a phone call to Miami, there were limited options available on the Constellation sailing. We were told we had to pay full fare for that 7 day sailing (almost double what we paid for the 10-13 sailing) and in addition, we were on our own in Barcelona for hotel accomodation, meals and transportation to the Century for the 10-25 sailing. We were never offered any assistance in making arrangements, so reluctantly opted to come home. We were told by Crystal, the Miami rep we spoke with, that we would be fully refunded for both sailings. We expect, and have made written requests for reimbursement for our total trip costs. Are there any other b2bers who have been made whole? Are we expected to lose thousands of dollars because of their lack of passenger assistance or options? We never saw anyone aboard ship, in authority, to whom we could request answers. Now it seems, even repeated written requests, including letters to Presidents and CEO's, are ignored. Is it Celebrity policy for ship and company officers to ignore the public they serve? It has been over a month, and I am even more upset by their total lack of acknowledgement, or response to, my numerous requests reimbursement.

 

 

I can't even imagine what you Back2backers went through! I talked to a few you on board while waiting in line for some answers. Your level of misinformation and stress was a whole different ballgame!

 

I would think that Celebrity would have given you some priority considering you didn't even have flights home from Europe to change......

[spud357c]

Just to pour more salt on the injury... well, for me at least.

Finally talk to the Celebrity rep. about my refunds again and they said they've refunded everything on the credit cards minus the airfare since they are still "reviewing" it.

The numbers I got from Celebrity doesn't match up to what I paid to the travel agent, they told me to take it up to my TA. So, I did...asked my TA about the $300 price differences and turned out that it's my agent's commission fee, which is not refundable. So, not only we aren't getting what we should get back from Celebrity, I am losing additional $300 to my travel agent. Can it suck more?

 

And Celebrity isn't refunding the full full cruiseship since we are forced to pay gratuities on the few nightmare days we spent on the ship! Don't get me wrong, I am happy to pay the staff for what they did or didn't do for us, but this should be Celebrity's problem for paying their staff.

 

 

I have a feeling this time the problem is with your travel agent. I have a copy of a message that Celebrity sent to our TA on October 15th advising of the cancelation and in that they clearly state "Ticket agents will receive full commissions for the canceled sailing".

If I was you I'd go back to your travel agent refer them to this message and askj them for your $300.

[justlindal1]

here is my review for the Oct, 13 century cruise:

 

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=74849.

 

 

 

 

 

[Gonzo70]

HI FOLKS

Take a look at the thread starter "should i stay with Sapphire Princess or switch to Celebrity Century" and give your reply

 

Wow, that is terrible. :mad:

 

The person who started that thread is new to Cruise Critic and is seeking advice about their honeymoon. Why would you steer them to a thread about a highly, highly unusual situation that has nothing to do with the trip they are planning? That is very deceptive and selfish. :mad:

[harryw]

Checks came in the mail today from Celebrity CruiseCare (BerkelyCare).

 

They paid the $500 maximum pp for incidental costs due to Trip "Delay."

[Christine Frances]

Wow, that is terrible. :mad:

 

The person who started that thread is new to Cruise Critic and is seeking advice about their honeymoon. Why would you steer them to a thread about a highly, highly unusual situation that has nothing to do with the trip they are planning? That is very deceptive and selfish. :mad:

 

 

Good reply! You beat me to it!

[Samone78]

Wow, that is terrible. :mad:

 

The person who started that thread is new to Cruise Critic and is seeking advice about their honeymoon. Why would you steer them to a thread about a highly, highly unusual situation that has nothing to do with the trip they are planning? That is very deceptive and selfish. :mad:

 

I don't think this a "highly unusual" situation. If, for some reason, they encounter mechanical difficulties on their cruise, they will most likely encounter the same poor customer service that the rest of us have. It is what it is! It is the opposite of deceptive and selfish. It is informing future travelers about possible peril!

 

Have you read this thread? Maybe you're not fully informed on how we were and are still being treated. :mad:

[spud357c]

The person who started that thread is new to Cruise Critic and is seeking advice about their honeymoon. Why would you steer them to a thread about a highly, highly unusual situation that has nothing to do with the trip they are planning? That is very deceptive and selfish

 

 

I agree it may be an unusual situation but they are asking about the cruise line - so if something does happen would you rather them be with a line like Carnival where people were kept informed, given assistance and a free cruise with their money refunded before they left the ship or with Celebrity where those of us who were on the Century still don't even know if our airfare will be repaid after over a month !!!

 

It is obvious that Celebrity are not the top quality line they try to posture themselves as being.

[Gonzo70]

I agree it may be an unusual situation but they are asking about the cruise line - so if something does happen would you rather them be with a line like Carnival where people were kept informed, given assistance and a free cruise with their money refunded before they left the ship or with Celebrity where those of us who were on the Century still don't even know if our airfare will be repaid after over a month !!!

 

It is obvious that Celebrity are not the top quality line they try to posture themselves as being.

 

99.9% of cruises do not have a major disaster occur such as the rudder issue on Celebrity's Century or the fire on Carnival's Splendor. Overall Celebrity is an outstanding cruise line and the vast majority of people are extremely satisfied with them on the 99.9% of cruises where disaster does not strike. That does not mean they did not make big mistakes with how they handled the issue on Century and hopefully they will still make things right and learn from the situation so they can better handle the next crisis.

 

Using scare tactics on a new Cruise Critic member who is planning their honeymoon in order for you to personally get revenge against Celebrity is deplorable.

[spud357c]

Why try to defend Celebrity - had they done the right thing in the first place they way Carnival did there wouldn't be an issue to discuss.

The "hope" that they may learn from this and better handle the next crisis is nice in theory but there is no indication they have any interest in doing so.

[Gonzo70]

Why try to defend Celebrity - had they done the right thing in the first place they way Carnival did there wouldn't be an issue to discuss.

The "hope" that they may learn from this and better handle the next crisis is nice in theory but there is no indication they have any interest in doing so.

 

If you go to the Carnival board you will see a thread like this one, but with people complaining that RCCL (Celebrity's parent company) treats people better when something goes wrong than what Carnival is doing for the people who's cruises are canceled because of the fire on Splendor. The grass is always greener on the other side. The Carnival thread is full of people complaining about poor communication from Carnival, inadequate compensation, slow responses etc.

 

You and others on this thread are angry at Celebrity (and much of the anger is legitimate). That does not change the fact that on 99.9% of cruises Celebrity delivers an outstanding product and that most people that sail with Celebrity have a great vacation. Just look at the reviews here on Cruise Critic for Celebrity aside from the cruise that experienced the rudder problem.

 

It is wrong to vent one's personal anger towards Celebrity at a new forum member who is planning their honeymoon. Please keep things in perspective.

[Can'tstopcruising]

Why try to defend Celebrity - had they done the right thing in the first place they way Carnival did there wouldn't be an issue to discuss.

The "hope" that they may learn from this and better handle the next crisis is nice in theory but there is no indication they have any interest in doing so.

 

Before "they learn from this and better handle the next crisis" I think it would be wise to continue and improve their handling of THIS crisis.

[Can'tstopcruising]

Gonzo, agreed, if everything goes well, Celebrity gives a very good cruise. But, in the face of problems, it is an entirely different Celebrity.

 

Granted, a small percentage of the cruises have major problems, but if you are on one, percentages do not matter. Like, if you go to the doctor with a problem and he tells you that 95% of the time it is not serious, if yours is serious, it doesn't matter about the other 95%. Percentages are meaningless when it happens to you.

[Gonzo70]

Gonzo' date=' agreed, if everything goes well, Celebrity gives a very good cruise. But, in the face of problems, it is an entirely different Celebrity.

[/quote']

 

Yes, but the same can be said of all the mass market cruise lines. Every time a disaster has happened on a cruise ship in recent years there has been a long thread on the board of that particular cruise line - mostly filled with people complaining about how poorly the cruise line handled the crisis. I do not recall a single thread after a crisis where most posts were praising a cruise line's response to the crisis. It makes no difference if it is Celebrity, Carnival or any of the other major players.

 

Unhappy people come to vent and share information after a crisis and that is all good and well, but when people start making scare posts on other threads - especially one where a new forum member is seeking help planning their honeymoon - that is harmful. People are simply gratifying their own desire to take revenge on Celebrity at the expense of the OP on the other thread.

 

The cruise lines are in the business of providing great vacations and most (almost all) of the time they deliver that. When things suddenly go badly, cruise lines are just not that good at swiftly handling the situation as best as possible and tend to upset a lot of people. The cruise lines are not in the business of crisis intervention when a cruise is suddenly interrupted - that is just not what they are set up to do; fortunately they very rarely have to go into that mode.

[cpj]

Yes, but the same can be said of all the mass market cruise lines. Every time a disaster has happened on a cruise ship in recent years there has been a long thread on the board of that particular cruise line - mostly filled with people complaining about how poorly the cruise line handled the crisis. I do not recall a single thread after a crisis where most posts were praising a cruise line's response to the crisis. It makes no difference if it is Celebrity, Carnival or any of the other major players.

 

Unhappy people come to vent and share information after a crisis and that is all good and well, but when people start making scare posts on other threads - especially one where a new forum member is seeking help planning their honeymoon - that is harmful. People are simply gratifying their own desire to take revenge on Celebrity at the expense of the OP on the other thread.

 

The cruise lines are in the business of providing great vacations and most (almost all) of the time they deliver that. When things suddenly go badly, cruise lines are just not that good at swiftly handling the situation as best as possible and tend to upset a lot of people. The cruise lines are not in the business of crisis intervention when a cruise is suddenly interrupted - that is just not what they are set up to do; fortunately they very rarely have to go into that mode.

What you say is true. This cruise was over a month ago and some customers have still not been contacted by Celebrity and a lot are still getting conflicting answers and still no answer about some airfare. Its under consderation is what they have been told. AS FAR AS IM CONCERNED THEY HAVE HAD ENOUGH TIME TO CONSIDER AND THEY SHOULD BE BADMOUTH THEY DESERVE IT.

[Can'tstopcruising]

Yes, but the same can be said of all the mass market cruise lines. Every time a disaster has happened on a cruise ship in recent years there has been a long thread on the board of that particular cruise line - mostly filled with people complaining about how poorly the cruise line handled the crisis. I do not recall a single thread after a crisis where most posts were praising a cruise line's response to the crisis. It makes no difference if it is Celebrity, Carnival or any of the other major players.

 

Unhappy people come to vent and share information after a crisis and that is all good and well, but when people start making scare posts on other threads - especially one where a new forum member is seeking help planning their honeymoon - that is harmful. People are simply gratifying their own desire to take revenge on Celebrity at the expense of the OP on the other thread.

 

The cruise lines are in the business of providing great vacations and most (almost all) of the time they deliver that. When things suddenly go badly, cruise lines are just not that good at swiftly handling the situation as best as possible and tend to upset a lot of people. The cruise lines are not in the business of crisis intervention when a cruise is suddenly interrupted - that is just not what they are set up to do; fortunately they very rarely have to go into that mode.

 

Gonzo, don't diminish the situation. Were you there? If you were involved, you would not be posting as you are.

[mafada]

where did you get the message that Celebrity sent to your TA?

can you possibly forward it to me if it's in your email? vidasum@gmail.com

I would love to shot this to the TA and get my $ back. I just thinking that if I call Celebrity and ask them about this, they would be again to be unhelpful and won't know what I am talking about.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

I have a feeling this time the problem is with your travel agent. I have a copy of a message that Celebrity sent to our TA on October 15th advising of the cancelation and in that they clearly state "Ticket agents will receive full commissions for the canceled sailing".

If I was you I'd go back to your travel agent refer them to this message and askj them for your $300.

[lvcruiser]

The true mark of a good business that believes in total guest satisfaction is not seen when times are good and problems or issues are scarce. Anyone can accomplish good things and provide good times when there is nothing wrong to stand in their way. Gonzo, you are correct that 99% of the time, Celebrity does things right, but the issue is how they reacted and continue to react to one of those times that fall into the 1%. This is the true test of a company's intentions to provide total guest satisfaction, and unfortunately, Celebrity is coming up quite short. Whether or not they are more concerned with their short term bottom line than their passengers happiness and well being so they will return and provide a boost to the long term bottom line, they are giving the general public and the passengers on this sailing that exact impression. It is not a good thing and even though the chances are slim that something along these lines will happen on any given cruise, I see nothing wrong with someone making an attempt to warn a new cruiser to the possibility that it might happen to them. There is only a 1 in 25,000 chance that you will die while under anesthetic, odds that are considerably less than having a problem on a cruise ship. But the doctor is still required to disclose that information to you. There is no disclosure requirement for a cruise line indicating how they will treat their customers when times are rough, so new cruisers need to gain that information in some way.

[spud357c]

where did you get the message that Celebrity sent to your TA?

can you possibly forward it to me if it's in your email? vidasum@gmail.com

I would love to shot this to the TA and get my $ back. I just thinking that if I call Celebrity and ask them about this, they would be again to be unhelpful and won't know what I am talking about.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

 

The e-mail and attachment are on the way - good luck and keep us posted.

[spud357c]

In looking at the Carnival thread that was mentioned above I see there is a very intersting poll concerning what passengers think about the compensation they received.

I think a similar poll about the treatment of Century passengers would be interesting and tried to create one but couldn't figure out how - if anyone knows how can they please start one covering both reinbursement of expenses and communication with passengers.

thanks.

[mafada]

@spud357c:

Thank you for helping me. Not sure if you email me yet, I haven't received the email or attachment from you and just want to make sure you email to the correct email address. It is vidasum@gmail.com or vidasum@hotmail.com

 

I really appreciate your help on this.

Thanks,

 

The e-mail and attachment are on the way - good luck and keep us posted.

[London25]

Good reply! You beat me to it!

 

Wow, that is terrible. :mad:

 

The person who started that thread is new to Cruise Critic and is seeking advice about their honeymoon. Why would you steer them to a thread about a highly, highly unusual situation that has nothing to do with the trip they are planning? That is very deceptive and selfish. :mad:

 

I first heard about this incident on our news station who were covering a story about a young couple from my home town who were on their honeymoon and who were on this cruise and then totally stranded and their honeymoon destroyed.

 

I don't understand why anyone gets upset about cautioning someone about terrible customer service. They should also investigate their other possible options as well. When I choose a travel desitination I invstigate the good and the bad about a possible choice and then make an informed decision.

 

You are saving it is deceptive and selfish - how? It has everything to do with the trip they are planning. Trip Interuption does happen - look at the hotel explosion in Playa del Carmen. Some of the travel companies stood up and let travellers make changes to this area.

 

Just telling them about the good is ignorant.

[thmpsn]

Well said lvcruiser.

We leave tomorrow for Barcelona and a cruise on the Brilliance. After following this thread, we bought a net book to take with us and made sure our cell worked in Europe. Fore warned is fore armed. I'd like to think that nothing like this could happen to us while on a cruise, but one should never say never. I, for one, appreciate the info given on these boards and, (in many instances) put it to very good use.

Karon

[spud357c]

@spud357c:

Thank you for helping me. Not sure if you email me yet, I haven't received the email or attachment from you and just want to make sure you email to the correct email address. It is vidasum@gmail.com or vidasum@hotmail.com

 

I really appreciate your help on this.

Thanks,

 

 

 

Message has been resent - let me know if you get it OK.