Carnival Splendor vs Celebrity Century Cruise Interruption

[mississauga]

I was just on the Celebrity Board reading comments re how Celebrity handled the Century cruise that was cancelled due to 2 rudder failures. The passengers were offloaded in Villefranche and had to make their own way home after a 10 hour bus ride to Barcelona.

 

I copied and pasted some of the latest comments in an email to an acquaintenance who made a comment to me about my upcoming Carnival Dream cruise. "You're going on Carnival? I wouldn't go on Carnival if you paid me." I promptly replied by telling her to not judge Carnival until she tried it herself as we have always loved Carnival among other cruiselines. She said it would be a hard sell to her better half based on what happened on that Carnival ship in the Pacific.

 

She is a Princess fan and also a Celebrity one ( going on Celebrity next year ). I couldn't resist sending her copies of the following excerpts from the Celebrity board although I was nice about it and added that I could not comment as I have never been on Celebrity. At least, I am not pre-judging Celebrity having never been on one of their ships.

 

Thought the rest of you, if you haven't already read it, might be interested in what they are posting on the Celebrity board. The whole thread is

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1292056&page=61

 

I'm just posting snippets of what some had to say:

 

Celebrity is spineless!!! I am so flabbergasted over the difference between Celebrity and Carnival.I have taken several cruises with Carnival and three with Celebrity.My husband likes Celebrity and I like Carnival.To me,the crew on Carnival has always been more personable and accommodating.Even though I don't participate in some of their activities I love to see the fun that everyone is having.If Celebrity is going to claim that they are a "premium" cruise line they should have pulled out all the stops to provide us with all the premium items when they were booting us off in 24 hrs.I could not believe that the officers hid away and did not make any effort to install any confidence that someone knew what they were doing.Now we have to grovel for our money like a mass of fools.If Celebrity doesn't step up they will prove to me that they are spineless:mad:

 

N OPEN NOTE TO DAN HANRAHAN....

 

According to the news, Gerry Cahill (CEO Carnival) got on the PA system before the passengers disembarked from the Celebrity Splendor to apologize for the situation...and as far as I know, you haven't even sent the century passengers a letter (and I was one of them) and it's almost four weeks since we "left" the ship.

 

Unfortunately, only one of you has demonstrated that they really care about their passengers, their customers.

 

 

I'm very impressed with Carnival! "Carnival is providing hotel accommodations, ground transportation and flights home for all passengers, who will receive a full refund and a complimentary future cruise as compensation. In addition, the line has extended benefits to the ship's crew, announcing on its Facebook page this afternoon that they "have been given the option of staying at hotels in the coming days, paid for by Carnival, and are receiving a stipend for meals. Along with their normal pay, they are being compensated for gratuities they would have normally received."

 

Not only are they treating their passengers fairly but they're also taking care of the crew. This is a class act. Congratulations, Carnival!

 

I hope some of these comparison stories get going. Celebrity deserves all the bad publicity and word of mouth it's getting from this event. It treated its passengers shamefully. And no doubt the crew was treated equally shamefully. What about all their lost income?

 

 

Is anyone else finding that the folks on the Carnival Splendor are praising the crew and Carnival's response to the situation.....is so different than the villification that Celebrity received after the Century breakdown.

 

Someone at Celebrity really must be thinking hard about why the passengers in two different but similar situations feel so differently about the Cruise Line's staff and actions.

 

Even looking superficially...Carnival opened the bars for free drinks...Celebrity was happy to sell you not only a drink, but an excursion in case you wanted to spend more.

 

Carnival kept folks informed about what was happening...Celebrity promised information in our cabins that never came.

 

Carnival has folks helping their passengers make plans to get home....Celebrity not only didn't have folks assigned to do this, they refused to help anyone who did not book their air thru Celebrity.

 

The list is very long....but this is an example of what you should and should not do if there is an unexpected event on the ship.

 

Yet thru their continued lack of any note to us from a named executive (Celebrity seems to send everything out with no executive/manager name attached), one can only believe Celebrity really doesn't care.

 

Celebrity has certainly created 2000 negative ambassadors, and many on this board are actively, and apparently successfully, attracting the interest of travel writers....and now with the ability to contrast two Cruise lines, the articles get more interesting to those travel writers....So the publicity may not stop quite so quickly. I can't think of a single area where Celebrity did it right and Carnival did it wrong. Now there's a challenge for the spin writers at Celebrity.....make what Celebrity did sound better than what Carnival did. I look forward to reading that article....

 

Just back from the carnival splendor. I was reading this thread before we left and said right from the beginning we'll see how carnival takes care of us when we get off the ship. So far they have taken care of us very very very well. My cruise was reimbursed to my charge card on 11/10 before even getting off the ship. They reimbursed every passenger any charges they may have made the first night so no one will get a bill for carnival for this cruise. (Wish I had visited the jewelry store, if I had only knew.) There was a carnival rep on the bus from the ship to the hotel, they made arrangements for everything including vouchers for food. Also arranged for luggage to be delivered to our rooms if desired. There were more carnival reps seeking us out this morning making sure we made it to the airport. We have yet to see how they will refund our airfare and hotel before the cruise because we made those arrangements ourselves but I will now be shocked if they don't totally take care of it. I think very highly of Carnival. They took care of us.

 

Sorry about your bad experience with Celebrity.

[oncruisecontrol]

Interesting. I have a friend who will be cruising aboard the Celebrity Century in March, and she is very nervous. She has never cruised before. It is a free cruise that she won. What I'd like to know is more details about the incident aboard Century to which you refer. When did this occur? Can you give me a synopsis of the details? I could do a search, but since you seem to know, I figured I'd ask. Thanks in advance.

[krewzin]

In addition, the line has extended benefits to the ship's crew, announcing on its Facebook page this afternoon that they "have been given the option of staying at hotels in the coming days, paid for by Carnival, and are receiving a stipend for meals.

 

 

First Spam....and now this??? I've never had a 'stipend,' but it certainly doesn't sound appetizing. Why not just give these poor folks some extra $$ and let them choose to eat what they want?

[mathgeek1978]

It's a very UNFAIR comparison. The Splendor situation was an emergency with the ship dead in the water. There was a fire, they lost most power, there was no water or toilet service for hours, etc, etc. The pax were stranded at sea and had to endure 4 days of, let's say, cold food and cold showers.

 

The Century had a mechanical problem and had to cancel the cruise. However, Celebrity faced 2 very difficult challenges:

 

1. They were at a tender port -- ie every pax and every piece of luggage needed to be tendered in.

 

2. There were massive strikes in Europe at that time.

 

Just like the Splendor incident, whatever the compensation is, there will be people who want will more, who will sue, and who will never be satisfied.

 

I was on the Celebrity Solstice Caribbean cruise last June and have to say that the ship and service were superior. I happen to have videos of both Celebrity and Carnival crusies and you can see them and compare.

 

Just like every other board, there are cheerleaders and bashers. The Celebrity board is no different.

[mathgeek1978]

First Spam....and now this??? I've never had a 'stipend,' but it certainly doesn't sound appetizing. Why not just give these poor folks some extra $$ and let them choose to eat what they want?

Did you look up stipend in the dictinoary? Stipend = $$$

[bunny1954]

It's a very UNFAIR comparison. The Splendor situation was an emergency with the ship dead in the water. There was a fire, they lost most power, there was no water or toilet service for hours, etc, etc. The pax were stranded at sea and had to endure 4 days of, let's say, cold food and cold showers.

 

The Century had a mechanical problem and had to cancel the cruise. However, Celebrity faced 2 very difficult challenges:

 

1. They were at a tender port -- ie every pax and every piece of luggage needed to be tendered in.

 

2. There were massive strikes in Europe at that time.

 

Just like the Splendor incident, whatever the compensation is, there will be people who want will more, who will sue, and who will never be satisfied.

 

I was on the Celebrity Solstice Caribbean cruise last June and have to say that the ship and service were superior. I happen to have videos of both Celebrity and Carnival crusies and you can see them and compare.

 

Just like every other board, there are cheerleaders and bashers. The Celebrity board is no different.

 

And you don't think that being stranded at sea MILES from a port is worse than being at a tender port where at least you can get off the ship?

 

There may have been all these issues you mention for Celebrity, but it is how a cruise line, or any business, responds. Granted you are not going to make everyone happy, but it sounds as though Carnival's response to the initial situation was far superior than Celebrity's was and still is.

[mathgeek1978]

And you don't think that being stranded at sea MILES from a port is worse than being at a tender port where at least you can get off the ship?

 

There may have been all these issues you mention for Celebrity, but it is how a cruise line, or any business, responds. Granted you are not going to make everyone happy, but it sounds as though Carnival's response to the initial situation was far superior than Celebrity's was and still is.

I absolutely think that being stranded at sea is much worse, and that's my point -- that the pax on the Splendor was facing a much worse situation than those pax on the Celebrity Century.

 

The fact that they were at a tender port created a hugh logistical issues. Also, note that Carnival was offering hotel and air transportation and flight changes to all who needed it. However, bear in mind that it would be extremely difficult for Carnival to offer all that if there were massive strikes in the US at this time.

 

I am NOT cheerleading for Celebrity, but just to assure those who will be cruising with Celebrity in the future that there is nothing to worry about. I am also not comparing the 2 compensation packages because it's like comparing apples with oranges.

[Pee-ah]

It's a very UNFAIR comparison. The Splendor situation was an emergency with the ship dead in the water. There was a fire, they lost most power, there was no water or toilet service for hours, etc, etc. The pax were stranded at sea and had to endure 4 days of, let's say, cold food and cold showers.

 

The Century had a mechanical problem and had to cancel the cruise. However, Celebrity faced 2 very difficult challenges:

 

1. They were at a tender port -- ie every pax and every piece of luggage needed to be tendered in.

 

2. There were massive strikes in Europe at that time.

 

Just like the Splendor incident, whatever the compensation is, there will be people who want will more, who will sue, and who will never be satisfied.

 

I was on the Celebrity Solstice Caribbean cruise last June and have to say that the ship and service were superior. I happen to have videos of both Celebrity and Carnival crusies and you can see them and compare.

 

Just like every other board, there are cheerleaders and bashers. The Celebrity board is no different.

 

Sorry i'm curious as which Carnival cruise you have been on to make the comparison?:confused:

 

(my pom poms are waving in the air):p

[mathgeek1978]

The Carnival Splendor -- ironically on the cruise that they hit the dock and we had to spend an extra day at PV. My Carnival Splendor videos are below my signature.

[Medtech2]

First Spam....and now this??? I've never had a 'stipend,' but it certainly doesn't sound appetizing. Why not just give these poor folks some extra $$ and let them choose to eat what they want?

You made me laugh....and I apologize if that was not your intent and applaud you if it was...;)

[oncruisecontrol]

Did you look up stipend in the dictinoary? Stipend = $$$

 

 

I think krewzin was just pulling our legs for a laugh.

[kidless]

It's a very UNFAIR comparison. The Splendor situation was an emergency with the ship dead in the water. There was a fire, they lost most power, there was no water or toilet service for hours, etc, etc. The pax were stranded at sea and had to endure 4 days of, let's say, cold food and cold showers.

 

The Century had a mechanical problem and had to cancel the cruise. However, Celebrity faced 2 very difficult challenges:

 

1. They were at a tender port -- ie every pax and every piece of luggage needed to be tendered in.

 

2. There were massive strikes in Europe at that time.

 

Just like the Splendor incident, whatever the compensation is, there will be people who want will more, who will sue, and who will never be satisfied.

 

I was on the Celebrity Solstice Caribbean cruise last June and have to say that the ship and service were superior. I happen to have videos of both Celebrity and Carnival crusies and you can see them and compare.

 

Just like every other board, there are cheerleaders and bashers. The Celebrity board is no different.

 

I agree two different situations you can not compare them. Good try though....

[Pee-ah]

I agree two different situations you can not compare them. Good try though....

 

 

I see you have your pom poms on too :D;):D

[mathgeek1978]

I think krewzin was just pulling our legs for a laugh.

Thinking about it again, I think you are right. My bad for a lack of humor and my apologies to krewzin. :)

[momof4boys]

First Spam....and now this??? I've never had a 'stipend,' but it certainly doesn't sound appetizing. Why not just give these poor folks some extra $$ and let them choose to eat what they want?

 

They gave them $150 in cash to buy food. :)

[mathgeek1978]

They gave them $150 in cash to buy food. :)

I see he got you too... HAHA:D

[jerseyralph]

First Spam....and now this??? I've never had a 'stipend,' but it certainly doesn't sound appetizing. Why not just give these poor folks some extra $$ and let them choose to eat what they want?

 

Oh my, oh my, oh my..........

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I'm impressed with how Carnival has handled this situation - they knew the world was watching, and did all that they could to make it right. If a big enough spotlight is shone (as was the case with the Splendor) OF COURSE they will rise to the occasion. To do anything less would be VERY foolish! We have sailed with them MANY times, and have been on the receiving end of a poorly functioning "chain of command" more than once. I suppose if you travel enough with any line, you will see some kinks in their armor.

 

We have sailed on Celebrity (Century 3 times) as well as the Constellation and Solstice. The Solstice was a CLASS ACT - simply the most beautiful ship we have been on, and being a virtually a smoke free ship was a BIG plus! I can't help but think that if Celebrity was not now under the RCL umbrella that they might have treated their guests a bit better. We never sailed with them before they were bought out, but the word is that the cuts started then, and some of what Celebrity once was has been watered down.

 

There are several things we enjoy about Celebrity over Carnival - but that does not mean that we are leaving Carnival behind! I fully expect to have a great cruise next Saturday on the Dream, and we are even more looking forward to the Miracle in January!

 

We'll be on the Epic in February - so you can say we are trying the water in many spots!

 

I carry no Pom-Poms, and evaluate each cruise on it's own merit - and each cruise line based on those cruises.

 

Again - Carnival came through in flying colors when it mattered most. They were lucky to have John Heald on board. He has a way of connecting with people -even if some are offended by his humor (which I like)!

 

Tom

[mississauga]

I'm impressed with how Carnival has handled this situation - they knew the world was watching, and did all that they could to make it right. If a big enough spotlight is shone (as was the case with the Splendor) OF COURSE they will rise to the occasion. To do anything less would be VERY foolish! We have sailed with them MANY times, and have been on the receiving end of a poorly functioning "chain of command" more than once. I suppose if you travel enough with any line, you will see some kinks in their armor.

 

I carry no Pom-Poms, and evaluate each cruise on it's own merit - and each cruise line based on those cruises.

 

Again - Carnival came through in flying colors when it mattered most. They were lucky to have John Heald on board. He has a way of connecting with people -even if some are offended by his humor (which I like)!

 

You are 100% correct, Tom and I agree with you. But why did Celebrity not do the same for their passengers? I believe they also deserved the same compensation and consideration that the Carnival passengers got.

 

As I stated, I have not been on Celebrity so cannot comment on their product, so thought it interesting to read how their passengers were treated after the Century incident.

 

I took exception to my acquaintance saying -"You're going on Carnival? I wouldn't go on Carnival if you paid me." I promptly replied by telling her to not judge Carnival until she tried it herself as we have always loved Carnival among other cruiselines. She said it would be a hard sell to her better half based on what happened on that Carnival ship in the Pacific. This was from a Celebrity fan.

 

Since you have sailed extensively on Carnival and are now trying Celebrity, I would not take exceptions to your comments about either line as you would have stated it based on your personal experience and not hearsay.

[mathgeek1978]

You are 100% correct, Tom and I agree with you. But why did Celebrity not do the same for their passengers? I believe they also deserved the same compensation and consideration that the Carnival passengers got.

 

As I stated, I have not been on Celebrity so cannot comment on their product, so thought it interesting to read how their passengers were treated after the Century incident.

 

I took exception to my acquaintance saying -"You're going on Carnival? I wouldn't go on Carnival if you paid me." I promptly replied by telling her to not judge Carnival until she tried it herself as we have always loved Carnival among other cruiselines. She said it would be a hard sell to her better half based on what happened on that Carnival ship in the Pacific. This was from a Celebrity fan.

 

Since you have sailed extensively on Carnival and are now trying Celebrity, I would not take exceptions to your comments about either line as you would have stated it based on your personal experience and not hearsay.

Do you still not understand the two situations are completely different? Why should the Celebrity pax have the same compensation? The Splendor pax had no working toilet for hours, no light in cabin, been eating mayo and beet sandwiches among other things and taking cold showers for four days. They had the Coast Guards on their left and the Navy on their right. Many pax in inside cabins had to sleep on the open deck.

 

The Century, due to a mechanical problem, had to cancel a 12-day cruise on day 2 and gave everyone a FULL refund of the cruise. Oh... by the way, the pax were stranded in, guess where, the beautiful southern tip of France. Check into a hotel, book a few tours and have a great time!

 

Just like the Splendor incident, there are those who made lemonade out of lemons and those who will just whine and cry. You quoted some of the whiner's posts. Did you read all the posts that were positive?

[bubbadog]

Great thread,and it sounds like you are dead on,this was a great comparison,of the 2 cruise lines,I Think carnival did a great job of stepping up to the plate,and helping their customers,Which in turn will bring their customers back with all their families,just never again on celebrity;)

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

You are 100% correct, Tom and I agree with you. But why did Celebrity not do the same for their passengers? I believe they also deserved the same compensation and consideration that the Carnival passengers got.

...

 

I added the following after my initial post:

 

... I can't help but think that if Celebrity was not now under the RCL umbrella that they might have treated their guests a bit better. We never sailed with them before they were bought out, but the word is that the cuts started then, and some of what Celebrity once was has been watered down.

...

Tom

 

I can see where it would have been helpful (to the passengers, and for PR sake) for Celebrity to, in addition to the full refund, have given the guests some "cash" to aid them in making/changing their travel plans -- plus something like a 25% voucher for a future cruise.

 

Alas, I don't own a cruise line, so that's only my opinion!! Oh well! :)

 

Tom

[mississauga]

Oh... by the way, the pax were stranded in, guess where, the beautiful southern tip of France. Check into a hotel, book a few tours and have a great time!

 

Did they have a choice of where they had to disembark? Did they choose Villefranche? NO! Neither did the Carnival passengers but Carnival made sure that those who wanted to stay in San Diego got to stay with Carnival paying the bill and those who chose to return to Long Beach, the original port of disembarkation got to do so. Did Celebrity do that?

 

From what I read, the Celebrity passengers who are complaining are upset that Celebrity did not care what happened to them and it seems that Carnival took measures to make everything right for their passengers.

[mathgeek1978]

Did they have a choice of where they had to disembark? Did they choose Villefranche? NO! Neither did the Carnival passengers but Carnival made sure that those who wanted to stay in San Diego got to stay with Carnival paying the bill and those who chose to return to Long Beach, the original port of disembarkation got to do so. Did Celebrity do that?

 

From what I read, the Celebrity passengers who are complaining are upset that Celebrity did not care what happened to them and it seems that Carnival took measures to make everything right for their passengers.

Yes, they were offered the option of a free 10-hour bus ride to Barcelona. A bus ride because due to the massive strikes, flights were hard to book.

 

You are quoting all the whiners and all the negatives. To be fair, I have to let everyone on this board (who don't visit the Celebrity board often) know that just like the Splendor incident, there are plenty of people who make lemonade out of lemons and remained positive about the whole situation.

 

For those who are not familiar with the situation, here are excerpts from a few posts just from the first few pages of a 70 or so page thread:

 

Post #68

 

St. Paul is just amazing. I had a wonderful day there. Villefranche, which is where the ship actually anchors (not Nice) is a beautiful town. I asked the guide to let me off the bus from St. Paul in the upper town by the outdoor flea market. From there I made my way down to the tender pier through an amazing garden. Provence is where I would love to retire should I win the lottery (although I may be a whore and bounce back and forth between Provence and Tuscany). Please don't wake me from my dream.

 

Post #74

 

I can't agree more with this statement. I am on board. Are we disappointed? Of course--we really wanted to see Croatia and many of the other ports. However, we are thankful this happened while in port and not at sea.

 

Last night I decided to go back to my room and rest because everywhere I went, passengers were complaining. The manner in which passengers berated some of the staff is truly sad. I certainly empathize about our fellow passengers' vacation plans getting cut short, having to reroute themselves, etc. But a large part of the passengers seemed to think that Celebrity could wave a magic wand, find hotel rooms for all, change their airline tickets, etc, and all within 24 hours. As the poster above wrote, this was probably one of the worst logistical nightmares that took place.

 

More than once I had to remind myself that a day on a bad cruise is better than a regular day at work.

 

Post #120

 

The amusing part is how different some people react to the same situation. There are those who cannot handle disappointment and those who find a way to overcome obstacles and move on. And there are some really good observations here. I particularly like Bob's "if you are not flexible, then cruising (and travel) may not be for you" comment.

 

Post #197

 

Agree with Harcin. Seems like there were more than a few whiners on this cruise. Anyone who expects travel today to be free of incidents should not travel. Stuff happens, unfortunately, whether it's weather, strikes, hijackings norovirus, equipment failures, delayed flights, etc. You have to be flexible in today's travel environment. I do not see where Celebrity fell short in dealing with the situation. There are no spare ships at the ready to replace a ship with a major mechanical problem. To offer a full refund, a 25 percent savings on a future cruise, and transportation back to Barcelona seems fair to me.

[mathgeek1978]

 

plus something like a 25% voucher for a future cruise.

 

Tom

Yes, they get that. :)