Celebrity cancels entire cruise!!

[Karynanne]

That's a brilliant expression and one I would do well to use quite often. Sadly I am a glass half empty type of girl which really is not the way to be. I shall try and remember that phrase next time I am being a worry wart.

 

My Mom's wise words have served me well. She passed away 7 weeks ago, and I'm fortunate to have a treasure trove full of wisdom from her. She always lived her life with a cup half-full conviction. Our fears tend to paralyze us and keep us from experiencing everything that life can present.

 

Your cruise and Anniversary Celebration sound wonderful and exciting.

 

Karyn

[CABINET]

My Mom's wise words have served me well. She passed away 7 weeks ago, and I'm fortunate to have a treasure trove full of wisdom from her. She always lived her life with a cup half-full conviction. Our fears tend to paralyze us and keep us from experiencing everything that life can present.

 

Your cruise and Anniversary Celebration sound wonderful and exciting.

 

Karyn

 

So sorry to hear that sad news. It's good to know that she took what was best out of life.

[Blazerboy]

Sorry if I caused any concern- the cancelation was for a drydock, so would be very unlikely in your case, especially travelling West then East. Fingers crossed, and best wishes for your anniversary trip!

 

Karyn, nice to see your mother's words- and so glad the memory brings you comfort. I'm always amazed by the number of family phrases in my speaking patterns.

 

Hugs, and hope to talk soon,

 

Andrew

[jcrandle]

This is all quite disconcerting. I do not fly and in 2014 we are hoping to celebrate our silver wedding by doing two QM2 transatlantics with a few weeks spent in the US in between the two (we would probably be away from home for nearly two months in total).

 

The thought that one of the transatlantics could be cancelled is frankly terrifying. Last time we did this in 2010 the organisation and planning took absolutely ages involving multiple hotel bookings, four different Amtrak journeys and two properties(one on each side of the US) booked for a week each. It was a wonderful trip (and was intended to be "once in a lifetime") and I am so glad I had no idea that ships could be chartered and passengers just thrown to the wind :eek::eek::eek:.

 

While I would never say never, If I were picking cruises that might be impacted by charters, the QM2 TAs would be at the bottom of the list.

[iCruise49]

My Mom always said, "It's not time to borrow trouble". In other words, try not to get upset about a situation that hasn't occured for you. Yes, it is a "possibility", but not a "probability".

 

Plan your holiday and enjoy yourself.

 

 

Beautiful philosophy! Sorry for her passing.

[Oville]

Well we were just informed that another Celebrity cruise (one we booked) is no longer available due to a charter. They have offered the same category on the same cruise on a different date at the same price and a $100 OBC. Unfortunatley we were doing a b2b and to change the second cruise the price is more than our original booking. We may swallow hard and accept the overall increase in price, but we are looking for an alternative, and definitely not exclusively on Celebrity.

[Mapleleaf5]

Well we were just informed that another Celebrity cruise (one we booked) is no longer available due to a charter. They have offered the same category on the same cruise on a different date at the same price and a $100 OBC. Unfortunatley we were doing a b2b and to change the second cruise the price is more than our original booking. We may swallow hard and accept the overall increase in price, but we are looking for an alternative, and definitely not exclusively on Celebrity.

 

What was the date and ship?

[Oville]

Connie, Jan 6 2014. Plenty of time to find another cruise somewhere.

[Redtravel]

I got canceled the week before the trip. Rebooked on another trip the same week. TA got refunds and got the new reservations in place. The worst part about being canceled is not finding a trip for the same time. When you work and get specific time off, it is awful if you get canceled and cannot rebook. I have friends who have had that happen.

[ghstudio]

Still waiting to hear what celebrity offered the OP in the way of compensation for any non refundable expenses.....

[Mapleleaf5]

Still waiting to hear what celebrity offered the OP in the way of compensation for any non refundable expenses.....

 

Receive $100 onboard credit per standard stateroom, $200 onboard credit for suites when you rebook an alternative sailing.

Guests who incur a fee due to the change in their airline reservations will be reimbursed up to $150 per person, for Domestic Flights & $200 per person, for International Flights. A faxed copy of air fees accessed must be provided for reimbursement.

A full refund for amounts paid will be processed to the original form of payment if guests choose to cancel; however, they will not receive any of the above compensation.

 

Of course penthouse and sky suite are gone!:mad:

[Mapleleaf5]

I got canceled the week before the trip. Rebooked on another trip the same week. TA got refunds and got the new reservations in place. The worst part about being canceled is not finding a trip for the same time. When you work and get specific time off, it is awful if you get canceled and cannot rebook. I have friends who have had that happen.

 

OMG! How stressful! :eek:

[Cruizer Bill]

Sorry to be late to the party but I just discovered this thread. Is there any word on who chartered this cruise? What a shame for the rest of us since it is right in the middle of prime-time cruising.

[jackdiamond]

A few years ago, we had a seven night cruise cancelled on one of the M class ships. Our fare was refunded; and, we were given a voucher for another 7 night cruise, in the same cabin category, anytime we chose within one year, at no cost to us. Also, we were given a free dinner at their top specialty restauant, dinner at the Captain's table, and some other goodies. We were very pleased.

[rln44]

16 years ago we were booked on an 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise on NCL. We flew down from Seattle to Miami the night before, checked our luggage on cruise day and sat at the terminal for two hours before hearing the announcement that the cruise had been cancelled. The ship (can't remember it's name) had hundreds of sick passengers during the two preceding cruises and the CDC told them to cancel and clean the ship. What a scramble. Our return tickets were for two weeks later. We wound up spending a week in Orlando and taking a 7 day cruise on Celebrity. NCL of course refunded our cruise fare and comped us for a 7 day cruise and after some negotiations with our TA provided the airfare for our return trip so it worked out in the end but not an experience I'd like to repeat.

[Chicago Boy]

We booked a 5 day Western Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Constellation on Feb 23rd 2013 as a way of extending our annual trip down to Florida. We did a similar cruise this year and enjoyed having the extra 5 day period of relaxation prior to the start of our condo lease in Naples.

I have just had a call from our agent who informed me that Celebrity has decided to charter the ship and has cancelled the cruise! NO word directly from Celebrity...just a phone call from my agent.

I was astonished that a cruise line would do this. Celebrity advertised the cruise on their brochure and we booked it in good faith. Now they appear to be reneging on the contracts in favour of something more favourable.

It's bad enough that it happened but quite unpardonable that the cruise line did not bother to contact us directly to explain what had happened.

In the past we have cruised with Oceania, Princess, HAL and Celebrity but we will think twice before booking another cruise with Celebrity.

 

 

We have not had the experience but this is a good example of why it is wise to book your air and hotels through Ceelbrity or any other cruise line you are sailing on. If you book your own air and hotel and the cruise line cancells you are still on the hook. If you book through them and they cancel you get all of your money back. Just saying. :p

[Flipper133]

Pardon me from barging into this thread... I have read a few of the posts and can well appreciate the frustrations.

 

But spare a thought for these folk from down under:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1707646

 

As I understand it, there are some 7000 passengers who had booked the Athena for the Aust Summer season. Wonderful cruising in the old fashioned style.

 

They were initially dismayed that their ship (and others in the CIC fleet) had been arrested in Europe for non payment of bills...including ships crew wages (and probably their tips!)

 

Many were flying to France to cruise back to Oz.

 

They gained much heart when it was reported that CIC Aust (which maintained that the parent company's troubles were not theirs) had negotiated to charter an alternative vessel.:)

 

Now... the German company which was supposed to provide the alternative has said NO... so CIC Aust has now filed for Voluntary Administration.:mad:

 

So no cruise...and real doubts on insurance recoveries, refunds or any compensation of any sort.

 

When you do the maths there are a lot of dollars involved (at least A$10million or more)

 

Very sad... and a real blight on the cruising industry

 

cheers

[deelastcre]

We booked a 5 day Western Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Constellation on Feb 23rd 2013 as a way of extending our annual trip down to Florida. We did a similar cruise this year and enjoyed having the extra 5 day period of relaxation prior to the start of our condo lease in Naples.

I have just had a call from our agent who informed me that Celebrity has decided to charter the ship and has cancelled the cruise! NO word directly from Celebrity...just a phone call from my agent.

I was astonished that a cruise line would do this. Celebrity advertised the cruise on their brochure and we booked it in good faith. Now they appear to be reneging on the contracts in favour of something more favourable.

It's bad enough that it happened but quite unpardonable that the cruise line did not bother to contact us directly to explain what had happened.

In the past we have cruised with Oceania, Princess, HAL and Celebrity but we will think twice before booking another cruise with Celebrity.

I know that you are disappointed, but it could be a good thing. I would rather be canceled, than to be on a ship with a big group. Who knows what type of group it might be? Hopefully, you can find another cruise to extend your vacation.

[4774Papa]

We had an NCL Holy Land cruise cancelled, so NCL gave us some OBC. Worked out pretty well.

[dodger1964]

We could go at the end of our time in Florida but the itinerary is different and doesn't include Grand Cayman.

I guess we should explore 7 day options which would mean taking up our lease a couple of days late.

We liked the 5 day option because we would have had only 2 ports - Falmouth (which we missed last time because of bad weather) and Grand Cayman (which we know well and love) and the rest would have been sea days which we really enjoy - lovely chance to read and relax!

I suppose the best option would be a 7 day with only two ports.

 

Sorry if this has already been suggested (I didn't want to read through the whole thread), consider booking through the new "charter" group. Depending on what group it is you might be able to get your ideal itinerary.

 

 

February 23rd – 28th, 2013 – 6th Annual Girls GetAway Cruise - 5 Night Cruise

Celebrity “Constellation”

Escorted cruise! Take advantage of this great opportunity to sail on the totally

“Solsticized” ship! We’ll visit the ports of Grand Cayman & Falmouth! Price includes port

charges, taxes, r/t transportation from SW Florida, onboard cocktail party & more!

Inside Cabin (Cat 10) - $599. ppdo Balcony Cabin (Cat 2A) - $829. ppdo

Concierge Class Cabin (Cat C3) - $879. ppdo Balcony Cabin (Cat C2) - $889. ppdo

[shipshape sam]

Having the legal right (its in the contract) and exercising that legal right are two different things. If I was told, the cruise was canceled due to mechanical/safety/weather or some other issue outside their control, I would understand better. To cancel MANY individual reservations, knowing full well that many of those people have scheduled time off, maybe even committed money for airline tickets and other items for a charter is harder to swallow/accept.

 

Can they do it? For sure as it is in the contract and they are doing it. I hate to justify behavior also by the reasoning that others do it. Celebrity could be above this and NOT cancel personal reservations. They are NOT canceling the cruise to my understanding. They are saying. 'We can make more money by canceling your reservation and chartering the whole ship'.

 

The slippery slope of this is that they could (I think, not sure) start to pick and choose selected passengers who early on got a great deal and just cancel their individual reservations and put that cabin back on the market at a higher price. Maybe, contact passenger and say ' We are offering you a limited time to pay more money for your current reservation or we will cancel it'. Don't see why this could not also happen.

 

Legal right to do something is not always the 'right' thing to do. I am glad to say that I have seen many times the cruise lines step up and do the 'right' thing vs the legal right by the contract response.

[St. Louis Sal]

They can do it because it makes good business sense to do so when they can gain a greater profit through chartering the ship. quote]

 

Do cruise lines take into consideration the loss of future business and loss of trust among the cruising public? Cancelling a cruise to gain the business of a charter may make good business sense in the short run but I wonder about the long term effect. If a cruise line cancelled my cruise under these conditions I don't think I could ever trust them enough to book them again. Someone mentioned that this doesn't happen that often but just in reading this thread it seems that it is more common than I thought.

 

St. Louis Sal

[LeftcoastBC]

I have to disagree.. I don't think it's at all common or usual for a cruiseline to cancel a cruise.. In fact, I think it's relatively infrequent.

 

I did happen to us though.... our cruise was canceled about 2 months prior to the cruise date, we received NONE of our money back (paid by check - back then), and were not able to recoup the full payment we had made - the cruiseline went out of business (Renaissance Cruises - our favorite cruise line by far).. You know what though?. It's a part of life - not a big deal in the grand schema of things...

 

Rick

.

 

Now that happens very infrequently BUT if you had of booked with an Agent in most Canadian Provinces (BC for sure) you would have been refunded from a Separate fund specifically for those situations where Companies disappear.

 

BTW We just had an Itinerary change today for a cruise leaving Sunday. Not cancelled just changed. Ports all rearanged

[rayandjean]

We were also booked on the Celebrity cruise that was chartered out to Turner Movie Classics in Dec 2011. It was a big disappointment due to scheduling annual @ work and having to waste the time without a trip as it was the end of the year. Would have been nice if we would have been given the option to stay on board for the chartered cruise. They were charging a lot more for those chartered cabins than what we had paid so I guess that was the issue. The worst part was that our friends who were traveling with us had never cruised and now I doubt they'll ever book another one. We were able to rebook for January of 2012 but they couldn't and lost total interest in cruising. That Jan trip was the one that made us Elite and we're booked on a transatlantic to the Baltics in May which will be our 1st to travel as an Elite. I keep reading about changes to the loyalty program so hope enough good things remain for us. We have a company that we travel with for river cruises and land tours and they seem to give us the most value for our $ so we'll do most of our trips with them. We have had some great trips with Celebrity but I'm most bothered about not being able to book the air directly with them. I was always willing to pay the cruise line's inflated fares just for the peace-of-mind relating to all sorts of cancellation issues that come up that are out of one's control. There is still an option to book air/sea connections but not through St Louis which is our origin airport. I'm praying that the transatlantic doesn't get changed or cancelled because we booked our own air...Valerie

[phoenix_dream]

We had a cruise cancelled about four years ago; and, Celebrity refunded our fare, gave us another cruise, at no charge, and gave us a free dinner in the specialty restaurant, and some other goodies. Obviously, we did not take umbrage at the cancellation.

Your compensation sounds way better than what others have received and certainly better than mine when it happened to me. Not doubting you - just wondering why you think that is? Do you have a huge number of Celebrity cruises under your belt? Usually book expensive cabins? I know Celebrity is famous for their consistent inconsistency but I wonder why some compensations are so much better than others for what seems to be the same situation?