New propulsion problem on Millennium

[curiouscat]

Hi susaraymond, please be sure to hold onto your receipt, and we will be able to reimburse the taxi costs.

 

That's nice..but what about all the folks who had to use their own $ and miles and who to pay for lodging...?

 

Please release a statement that all folks will be able to submit claims to Celebrity on a case by case basis for reimbursement.

 

Thanks..

 

CC

[djh]

Dear Celebrity,

Since someone from your company is obviously monitoring this board, I would recommend that someone from upper management contact Cruisestitch from this thread. I think he could really help assess what went wrong and what went right (did anything really go right?) in this whole debacle so that maybe next time when something like this happens, you will have a better handle on it. His observations about the entire situation have been a great help to many.

[MicCanberra]

That's nice..but what about all the folks who had to use their own $ and miles and who to pay for lodging...?

 

Please release a statement that all folks will be able to submit claims to Celebrity on a case by case basis for reimbursement.

 

Thanks..

 

CC

 

I suggest you keep your receipts and make your case to X in the near future when you have everything sorted. I am sure that they will be reasonable about it.:)

[jpurdy]

Can someone confirm it IS Celebrity responding? Moderator?

[AlanAllyn]

They have responded on other threads with information that was accurate.

[jpurdy]

They have responded on other threads with information that was accurate.

 

Again, hate to be cynical, but why would they respond to just ONE issue and not give out phone numbers, or private message people or something like that. It also seems that there has been more accurate information HERE that could be copied and pasted into a fake response.

[cruisestitch]

I nearly snorted out my beverage when I read that. While the poor Celebrity worker who is assigned to watch these boards meant well, it was actually an insult, like handing a teacup to the frantically bailing sailor on a sinking ship.

 

To those who asked about the reimbursement and FCC details,

Future Cruise Certificates are to be mailed to our home addresses or our travel agents within 6-8 weeks, according to the letter we received on board.

 

Until I see one, I won't know if it will be valid on new bookings only or can be applied to existing bookings AND just as important, if it is combinable with special perks and promotions.

 

Cruise fare refunds are to be posted back to our credit card within two to three weeks.

 

Believe me I have both of those noted on my calendar.

[Coolcruise02]

Wow.. reading the experiences here leaves me wondering what X was thinking (or not thinking apparently) . I was on the Carnival Triumph when she caught fire and had to be towed to Mobile,AL. Compared to what I have read here, they handled the travel arrangements much better. The head of each cruising family was asked to fill out a form detailing your preferences - flight home from Mobile, bus trip back to Galveston, etc... They did a very good job of figuring out what they needed to do before they made the arrangements. They even flew a couple traveling with us to FLorida so they could pick up their daughter from Grandma's instead of flying them home and then having them make new flight arrangements to get their daughter... All arranged before we got off the ship. And Carnival's CEO and several of his senior officers were in Mobile when the ship docked.

 

WOW...that makes sense!!! Find out where people need/want to go! :)

[C 2 C]

Has anyone a good enough memory to know how often Millennium has had a "new propulsion problem?".

How often has Celebrity experienced this pod problem and how often has Millennium been the source?

[Orator]

Can someone confirm it IS Celebrity responding? Moderator?

 

Clicking on screen name and checking past posts confirms identity.

[ghstudio]

I have no doubt that the post is from a celebrity employee and I am sure that he/she responded with information he/she believed is correct.

 

My concern would be whether it's what actually will happen because often you get different answers from different areas of Celebrity HQ. But hopefully, it will all work out...and I'm glad that Celebrity is monitoring these boards....and hopeful that the information found here is summarized and both good AND BAD are reported to management.

[cruisestitch]

Just spoke to friends on a post cruise trip. On arriving Anchorage ( after their own much-delayed carter flight mess ) they asked what hotel they would be going to And the guide said "there aren't any hotel rooms in Anchorage so you're going straight to your Denali destination". When challenged that there are, in fact plenty of hotel rooms, she acknowledged that there weren't any which would cut deals with Celebrity at this stage !!!!! So they had a seven hour bus trip. No food, no drinks, late night arrival and had to make do with snacks from the convenience store. Oh, and Celebrity managed to lose two of their suitcases. ON A CHARTER! They have seems been located but geez, people will Celebrity EVER get its act together for these people?

[CruisinMaterial]

From all I have heard, the problem is with the propulsion pod, not the gas turbine main engines. The pod contains an electric motor that drives the propeller, that might be where the problem lies. If it was with any of the other electrical gear such as the transformer or converter, they are within the hull of the ship and wouldn't require a dry dock. The only way to access a pod is in a dry dock.

 

Thanks for you post and reply to my question. I've been watching this thread specifically but no other ones so it may have been stated elsewhere. Thanks again. :)

[ForeverAtSea]

Just spoke to friends on a post cruise trip. On arriving Anchorage ( after their own much-delayed carter flight mess ) they asked what hotel they would be going to And the guide said "there aren't any hotel rooms in Anchorage so you're going straight to your Denali destination". When challenged that there are, in fact plenty of hotel rooms, she acknowledged that there weren't any which would cut deals with Celebrity at this stage !!!!! So they had a seven hour bus trip. No food, no drinks, late night arrival and had to make do with snacks from the convenience store. Oh, and Celebrity managed to lose two of their suitcases. ON A CHARTER! They have seems been located but geez, people will Celebrity EVER get its act together for these people?

 

Cruisestitch, was this a Celebrity post-cruise tour?

[cruisestitch]

Yes my friends are on a Celebrity post-cruise tour.

[watson524]

Celebrity post cruise tour here. We got on a bus after landing, stopped at a grocery store at almost midnite and then we're driven to the Talkeetna lodge and got I'm about 1:30am...

[susaraymond]

Yes, we plan on submitting our taxi bill, thank you.

 

However, Celebrity should be able to post credits within a week for all passengers that had to be evacuated in order to keep some sort of goodwill. All it takes is a few accountemps or kelly girls and the job can be done asap. Celebrity was able to charge my account ASAP for the trip and excursions, so I am sure their systems can handle it - they just need to hire a few extra hands. A small price for goodwill.

 

As far as credits for future credits taking 6-8 weeks??? I feel like a kid in the 1960's ordering a toy off the back of a cereal box and having to wait that long. Come on, guys, some of your executive staff can put in a few hours over a weekend or in the evenings and get those knocked out - it just isn't that hard to get done.

 

I am still reeling over the fact that Celebrity was going to ship our kids off on a separate flight without knowing what hotel they were being sent to. We had no cell phone coverage in Canada. I went to the side door of the guest relations office at 1:00 AM and the person supervising this told me that it could not be changed. Thank goodness, that I found someone with some sense about 2:00 AM arranged for our family to be together!

 

Celebrity, please do not underestimate the feeling a family has when they are being separated in a situation like this with no information!! i am hoping Celebrity learns from this.

[dkjretired]

Can someone confirm it IS Celebrity responding? Moderator?

 

It is from Celebrity cruises, they have been very helpful in the past however unfortunately do not post very frequently.

[specialdiet]

Was on this sailing, and on the second charter flight out (to YVR, which worked out for us). Seemed we were lucky getting out when we did. Read through the stories about what happened later, as well as various peoples' recommendations.

 

 

Two initial observations:

 

1. Guest relations staff did excellent job, it wasn't until concrete travel arrangements started being made that things appeared to fall apart. Mentioning compensation early diffused a lot of early anger, very smart.

 

2. This was a "first world" problem of (in)convenience, not safety. Thankfully. Happy to keep that in perspective.

 

 

My recommendations:

 

1. Guests should have been given a form to fill out (one per group) which asks for all members of party, rank order flight preference (ANC, SEA, YVR), and various choices for pre-existing post-cruise plans (e.g. origin/destination of flights, tours, etc.). Caveat that no guarantees choice can be accommodated.

 

2. Rather than the widely-spaced (and largely unknown) interval between PA updates, most of which didn't have much to say, Celebrity should have used the onboard TV station, promising updates as to current status each hour on the hour (and repeated again on the half hour). PA would only then be used for urgent things.

 

Ideally, using the forms would help with (a) keeping groups or families in different staterooms together, and (b) giving people preferred destination.

 

Even if (cynically) Celebrity ignored the forms altogether, just having people complete them would make people feel better, as it gives them a feeling of having some control in the process, unlike what happened where they had no input as to where they were sent. Reduces anxiety and fear of the unknown. People understand that with 2000 people not everyone will get their choice, so expectation is set for that.

 

Using the TV channel would also have removed another source of uncertainty, as to timing of updates. Again, even if nothing actually changed, people would feel better about the whole thing. In a TV update, vs. a short PA announcement, you could ideally even provide very general useful information (e.g. we've now got planes chartered, working on hotels, etc.) so that people have a sense that there is a process and/or progress. Could also be used to deal with most frequent questions that Guest Relations staff were encountering.

 

Again, the process didn't even have to change, but I think these two small changes (travel info forms and frequent, scheduled TV updates) would have greatly improved what were substantial communications problems.

[moebruin]

I can not imagine a real human being telling another human being that sorry your children have to fly separately.

 

I guess that's their new definition if modern luxury.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

[cruisestitch]

I absolutely concur that scheduled televised updates would have been in order.

 

As for the flight requests, at least three times I added my name to various little slips of paper requesting either ANK or SEA. Those little pieces of paper were never used for anything. It was a waste of my time and effort to work my way to the front of the line to put my name on them .

 

Perhaps because of being on the second flight out things were running approximately on time yet. But by the end of the day our 6 pm meeting time slid to 8 pm, our 9:30 scheduled takeoff slid to after midnight, and our hotel arrival time was 4 am.

 

It's hard to keep in mind sometimes that it could have been even worse....had we been at Icy Strait Point for instance.

[specialdiet]

... at least three times I added my name to various little slips of paper requesting either ANK or SEA. It was a waste of my time and effort to work my way to the front of the line to put my name on them .

 

Perhaps because of being on the second flight out things were running approximately on time yet. But by the end of the day our 6 pm meeting time slid to 8 pm, our 9:30 scheduled takeoff slid to after midnight, and our hotel arrival time was 4 am.

 

Yes, I read through all the posts about what happened after we left, and am happy for us, though definitely feel bad for everyone later. No question things deteriorated quite dramatically as time went on.

 

I'd still argue that simple one-page forms with brief travel preferences given out to everyone (and just dropped off in a box, no lineup to return) would have helped many people psychologically if nothing else. And certainly had the potential to help for real.

 

I'll join many others in thanking you very much for your timely and balanced reporting and commentary during this entire episode. While I didn't meet you while onboard, I'm glad you were there.

[cruisestitch]

I thank all my faithful readers for their kind comments .

 

I'm now heading into a week of meetings so I probably will not post to these threads again. I'm not sure I could say anything more at this stage, and I'll pass the torch to those like specialdiet and the others who are now arriving home or will post at the end if their Denali tours. I'm sure there is much more to say on this incident and will let them take over.

[Big_G]

I thank all my faithful readers for their kind comments .

 

I'm now heading into a week of meetings so I probably will not post to these threads again. I'm not sure I could say anything more at this stage, and I'll pass the torch to those like specialdiet and the others who are now arriving home or will post at the end if their Denali tours. I'm sure there is much more to say on this incident and will let them take over.

 

I know it's already been said but your calm demeanor helped us outsiders follow this incident. Thanks again.

[MicCanberra]

I thank all my faithful readers for their kind comments .

 

I'm now heading into a week of meetings so I probably will not post to these threads again. I'm not sure I could say anything more at this stage, and I'll pass the torch to those like specialdiet and the others who are now arriving home or will post at the end if their Denali tours. I'm sure there is much more to say on this incident and will let them take over.

 

Thanks for all your updates and clarifications on the evacuation process. Have a good week.:D