Would Celebrity Ever Cancel a Cruise?

[lovestx]

When I told my husband yesterday how empty our ship (Connie) is for our December sailing, he asked a logical question "Do you think they will cancel it?" I said, no. But it is an interesting question. Airlines cancel all the time because planes are relatively empty and not very profitable. I assume that cruiselines don't do that but was just wondering.

 

We are on the December 20th sailing of Connie that is only 4 nights. Given her recent (current?) Norovirus issue, I'm just wondering if they would ever forgo the revenue to do a stem to stern cleaning for four days. We would be VERY disappointed, needless to say.

 

I'm guessing we'll just continue to see price drops and they will give away cabins to their frequent gamblers and such.

[4774Papa]

We had a Celebrity repo cruise from Amsterdam to Istanbul cancelled in the last year and a half. It was due to the situation in Egypt. The Connie was scheduled to be in the Eastern Med and visit Egypt and the Holy Land.

 

The cancellation was over a year in advance.

 

We also had an NCL cruise cancelled for the same reason.

 

I doubt if X will cancel because of the virus. Norovirus has been a problem for many cruise lines, but they manage and ultimately clean the ship of the virus.

[KirkNC]

Sometimes the cruise can get chartered and they will cancel it for the general public.

[Keith1010]

It is highly unlikely but has happened and that included when there were POD problems.

 

Keith

[lovestx]

KirkNC, would it get chartered after being sold as a cruise to the public?

 

And, Keith, hate to be stupid but what are POD problems?

[dkjretired]

Have never heard of them cancelling a cruise for lack of sales, they would just lower the prices.. They have been cancelled as someone said for mechanical reasons, charters but never for what you are fearful of.

[dkjretired]

KirkNC, would it get chartered after being sold as a cruise to the public?

 

And, Keith, hate to be stupid but what are POD problems?

 

Yes, they have chartered ships after they are sold to the public. All cruise lines do this so it is not something which only Celebrity does. It is usually done at least a year out but occasionally closer.

 

The Pod problems had to do with a defective propulsion system placed on Celebrities M class ships. (Millenium, Summit, Infinity and Constellation) They caused numerous cancellations of cruises on those ships so they could be repaired. It appears they have finally found the solution since they have not had any cancellelations for that reason in three or four years. It was a big thing at the time, lawsuits involved and millions of dollars.

[cruisestitch]

PODs are part of the propulsion system

 

Yes, there has been a cruise which was chartered after sales to the general public were underway. There were a couple of threads about it here when it happened.

 

But canceling because of low sales, and only a few days away? Nope. Some revenue beats no revenue. Even the need to clean deeply wouldn't cause a last minute ancellation, they would just work around the passengers

[minniem]

The Feb 23, 2013 cruise on Constellation was cancelled because someone charted the ship. We had booked it last Feb. Celebrity called us and rescheduled us and gave us some ship credit.

We did not need plane reservations so I cannot say what they do for passengers with already booked flights.

I was told by many people on CC that it sometimes happens. Luckily it was not a problem for us.

[Alg63]

Yes, anyone can cancel anything but why worry? Also, how do you know it is "empty"?

As for viruses, if a ship had a known virus on board it would be brought into port, shut down and sanitized.

Rumors cause war. You probably have more chance of getting sick on a flight or bacteria at a hospital

If it is so worrying to either of you that it will make you anxious, then cancel. Hopefully you have insurance

[chessbriar]

It's highly unlikely they will cancel this late. They still have to pay all those employees and port charges. An empty ship generates no revenue. Plus do you think they want to alienate their customers. Not only would they tick of the people booked, but word of mouth travels fast. It would do more harm than good

 

They would likely deeply discount cabins instead. Keep an eye on cabin pricing as you might be able to upgrade your cabin

[ondeckatsea]

Yes, they've cancelled two cruises we had booked. The first was a California coastal cruise and the second was from Amsterdam to Istanbul with the best itinerary we've ever seen. Great ports! The started doing the wine immersion cruises instead.

[lovestx]

Thanks all for the helpful responses.

 

Have to say that I am not 'worried'....just curious how cruise lines work as we are relative newbies to cruising. We do have trip insurance and would be disappointed if they cancelled but this is a problem lots of people would love to have and we are aware of how fortunate we are.

 

I am watching pricing closely hoping to upgrade. We could upgrade now but I don't want to put my TA through hoops more than once so will wait to see as we get closer to sailing date.

 

Ondeckatsea, just curious how close to your cruise date they cancelled. I would have been very disappointed to miss the Amsterdam to Istanbul cruise! Hope you have found a way to do something similar in the intervening time.

[garycarla]

Yes, they've cancelled two cruises we had booked. The first was a California coastal cruise and the second was from Amsterdam to Istanbul with the best itinerary we've ever seen. Great ports! The started doing the wine immersion cruises instead.

 

Can you provide a bit more detail? What exactly happened? I am thinking it is very, very rare if ever that a cruise was cancelled shortly before date prior to poor sales.

 

Again, details?

[dkjretired]

Can you provide a bit more detail? What exactly happened? I am thinking it is very, very rare if ever that a cruise was cancelled shortly before date prior to poor sales.

 

Again, details?

 

I have been on this board since 1995 and Celebrity has never cancelled a cruise because of poor sales. In this case, they took a different marketing direction.

[Lsimon]

It is not uncommon for cruise lines to cancel cruises due to issues such as mechanical problems or other unusual events. They also cancel itineraries if a ship is chartered or if they decide to change the itinerary but these are generally done a minimum of several months, and usually a year or more, in advance when they do happen.

 

As others have said, I've never heard of a cruise being cancelled for slow sales. You really can not compare this to an airline cancelling a flight. For a flight the aircraft itself is just being used for a few hours and the crew of a cancelled flight can be used on a different flight or just told to stay home for the day. But on a typical cruise there is a crew of more than 1,000 people who live and work on the boat for extended periods of time. They can't just give these people a week or two off and tell them to stay home! So it would make little or no sense to cancel a cruise for low sales and leave the ship idle.

[Karynanne]

I too agree that Celebrity would not cancel due to slow sales. Two weeks after 9/11, we were due to board Mercury for a Hawaii cruise, and we were given the option of cancellation, without the penalty. We opted to go ahead with our plans. The ship WAS half empty. Only one seating at dinner. But the upside was, we had wonderful service and attention. And it felt like we were on a private yacht...albeit a very LARGE yacht! It was a terrific cruise.

[Alg63]

If you want to upgrade and its a good price, don't wait. Don't worry about your TA, they are there to work with you