New propulsion problem on Millennium

[Cliftoncruz]

Specialdiet,

 

I understand your perspective! I am applying definitions and responses to incidents that I have been involved and learned from over the past 30 years in my former profession (retired). Under those principles this was a critical incident.

 

I thank you for your input, so taken!

[celebrity]

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?

 

Disgraceful! :(

[ghstudio]

No offence, and I don't wish to diminish the inconvenience that was caused to many people (and yes, I was on that ship), but I would not be even close to calling this a critical incident.

 

Putting out people for a few days, and likely causing some cash flow issues that will last longer, is not critical. People getting sick, injured, dying, etc. I would more likely consider critical, and that did not happen here.

 

Some perspective please. This was not the Concordia, or even the Triumph. Not even close.

 

This incident effected some 10,000 passengers, many of them multiple cruisers on Celebrity. Irrespective of what word you choose, it was a significant, critical incident requiring management. 10,000 passengers is not an insignificant number that you just throw away. From a marketing perspective it certainly should have been a critical incident, but it seems that marketing is most likely in a tent annex to HQ...they seem to have little iinfluence on Celebrity HQ actions.

 

I guess i would ask "why didn't celebrity HQ consider this a critical situation, or if they did, why have they handled it in a way that turns off their current customers, both those on the effected cruises and those who have booked cruises in the future."

[deise17311]

This incident effected some 10,000 passengers, many of them multiple cruisers on Celebrity. Irrespective of what word you choose, it was a significant, critical incident requiring management. 10,000 passengers is not an insignificant number that you just throw away. From a marketing perspective it certainly should have been a critical incident, but it seems that marketing is most likely in a tent annex to HQ...they seem to have little iinfluence on Celebrity HQ actions.

 

I guess i would ask "why didn't celebrity HQ consider this a critical situation, or if they did, why have they handled it in a way that turns off their current customers, both those on the effected cruises and those who have booked cruises in the future."

 

Well said!!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Esprit]

Author of the original 737 rumor here. We arrived home from Vancouver yesterday. A brief synopsis of our experience.

 

Although our "cruise of a lifetime" ended differently than expected, we view the past week in a mostly positive light.

 

Ketchikan is a lovely place to be stranded. We very much enjoyed walking, hiking, and learning about the local culture and history at a leisurely pace. And with all that exploring, I would still like visiting Ketchikan again on another cruise. We did take that float-plane flight to Misty Fjords on Tuesday during a brief period of sunshine - it was beautiful beyond words. Our pilot landed on a lake and took us right up to a waterfall where we exited the plane and took a (very brief) swim in the (very cold) lake – unforgettable.

 

As I said earlier, our dining experience in the Blu restaurant was a highlight and worth every penny of the additional cost for an AquaClass stateroom. Call me a food snob, but I don't think I could every go back to eating in the main dining room after experiencing Blu. Superb food, and the staff at Blu was very attentive. They even remembered our anniversary with a special cake for dessert.

 

We made a few friends among the staff, including our room steward and the maitre,d at Blu. I sensed some real sadness in their eyes as the fate of Millennium grew worse each passing day. Their own personal futures are tied to that ship, and so I felt sorry for them.

 

About the ship evacuation …

 

YES, the communication process could have been better. On multiple occasions, poorly-worded announcements resulted in long lines of frustrated passengers seeking clarification. Sometimes those lines stretched for hundreds of people.

 

YES, Celebrity needed a formal questionnaire to solicit the preference from passengers about their desired destination and departure time. Their process of using little slips of paper with handwritten notes seemed quite chaotic and resulted in many errors.

 

YES, Celebrity made promises to many passengers that were later broken. Some of our family members were “guaranteed” (using that specific word) that they would fly to Anchorage, only later to learn they were assigned to Vancouver.

 

YES, Celebrity showed great insensitivity and little flexibility to passengers with specific travel needs that required transit to Anchorage. Lines got long and tempers got hot as a result. Ketchikan police were even called - see http://www.adn.com/2013/08/22/3037385/passengers-on-troubled-cruise.html

 

YES, Celebrity was influenced by the cost of hotel rooms in Anchorage and NOT the availability of hotel rooms in Anchorage. This was a penny-wise, pound-foolish decision in my opinion.

 

YES, the CEO of Celebrity should have been in Ketchikan. Celebrity has only eleven ships – the stranding of Millennium was a big deal for the company. The CEO missed an opportunity to garner a lot of goodwill and good publicity for Celebrity by instead choosing to communicate through anonymous press releases. Demonstrating personal concern by showing up in Ketchikan would have been a brilliant PR move in my opinion.

 

About our own evacuation experience …

 

Originally, we were assigned to Seattle while the rest of our family was assigned to Vancouver. Fortunately we were able to fix that, but then our name mysteriously disappeared from the Vancouver passenger list again. Ultimately we made it on the Vancouver flight with our other family members. The plane took off with many empty seats. We arrived in Vancouver on Wednesday around midnight. Celebrity had lots of personnel and organization on the Vancouver side to greet and help passengers every step of the way. A cheer went out as our bus pulled up at the beautiful and historic Fairmont Hotel in downtown. It was an impressive sight as a dozen or more staff were lined up at the hotel entrance waiting for our arrival. The Fairmont is an elegant grand dame of a hotel – far nicer that the what we feared might be our fate. Obviously Celebrity has established ties and pre-negotiated room rates with the Fairmont.

 

Because the evacuation process on the ship was so uncertain and ever-changing, we dared not make any flight arrangements home until we were on the ground in Vancouver. Our flight departed Vancouver on Friday morning which gave us a full day on Thursday to explore and enjoy the sights and joys of Vancouver. That was a lovely and relaxing way to end our vacation.

 

Looking forward …

 

We are very pleased with the generous compensation offered to passengers. We are not sour on Celebrity, but we are fearful of the Millennium ship. We understand that the future cruise credit is only good for one year, so we have already booked our next cruise (to Alaska again, but this time on Solstice). And of course we will again be enjoying an AquaClass stateroom and dining in the fantastic Blu restaurant.

 

Cheers!

 

A well written and balanced summary

 

Thank you

[sandyss]

 

Looking forward …

 

We are very pleased with the generous compensation offered to passengers. We are not sour on Celebrity, but we are fearful of the Millennium ship. We understand that the future cruise credit is only good for one year, so we have already booked our next cruise (to Alaska again, but this time on Solstice). And of course we will again be enjoying an AquaClass stateroom and dining in the fantastic Blu restaurant.

 

Cheers!

 

But, will Celebrity allow us to apply the promised future cruise credit to a cruise that we have already booked?:confused:

[specialdiet]

This incident effected some 10,000 passengers, many of them multiple cruisers on Celebrity.

 

Probably 3000-4000 would have been caught up in the direct mess (lineups, poor communication, ad hoc changed travel plans). The rest would still be at home, and yes, have to change travel plans, be disappointed, etc. but hardly see this as some disaster they were caught in the middle of.

 

Of the 3000-4000, many were inconvenienced for a few days, perhaps somewhat upset, but also safe, and arguably well compensated. A minority were doubtless traumatized. Do I think things could have been handled better? Absolutely. Am I going to hold a grudge against Celebrity, or just file this under the 'sh*t happens' category?

 

More to the point, do I think any other company would do things significantly differently in this industry? No.

 

And am I going to throw away a $3000 FCC just to choose another line? No.

 

Sure, some people are going to never sail Celebrity again. My guess is that there's almost nothing anyone could have done to change that outcome for them.

[RDC1]

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?

 

When you say that hotel rooms were available, what kinds of rooms at what kinds of hotels? While Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska, it is really not all that large (298,000). When it comes to major hotels you basically have 4 Captain Cook, Hilton, Sheraton, and Mariott that would normally fit the caliber used by the cruise lines. Captain Cook and Hilton are heavily used by Princess and Holland America. After those 4 things drop off very quickly. So if you are trying to move passengers by the bus load, need space for hundreds of people on short notice during the peak of the Alaska Tourist season, good luck.

 

While an individual could find rooms, there is no way that it would be easy for Celebrity to find large blocks at short notice. You might be able to get a few rooms here or there using hotels line Courtyard, Holiday Inn express, etc. Imagine trying to do the logistics for that. Then also imagine the complaints we would be seeing from people unhappy with the hotel and location they got stuck with. 3 star or 2 star hotels. No food close by. No dining in the hotel. etc.

 

Atleast by getting them out to Denali immediately they got them to a location where normal tour activities could take over, instead of having the next day also being uncertain and confused. Also by doing that it allowed them to use what blocks they could find for those where the option of going out to Denali or other land tour locations did not exist.

[RDC1]

Does anyone know if the future cruise credit is transferable or if it can only be used by the original guests?

 

If it is transferable then I am pretty sure that those that never what to sail Celebrity again could find people to take them off their hands at some discount.

[moebruin]

Those who will no longer do business we with Celebrity are you also going to boycott Princess who did the samething with their ship and also Carnival.

 

Personally think you would just need to boycott the industry.

 

BTW I was on the ship and am happily going to take my free cruise and enjoyed my cruise and am now enjoying a magnificent view of Mount McKinley on a beautiful clear day in Talkeeta

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

[FLACRUISER99]

For anyone intrested Millie is now showing up on http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

Traveling @17.1Knots 43.62643 -126.2418

[Cindy]

No offence, and I don't wish to diminish the inconvenience that was caused to many people (and yes, I was on that ship), but I would not be even close to calling this a critical incident.

 

Putting out people for a few days, and likely causing some cash flow issues that will last longer, is not critical. People getting sick, injured, dying, etc. I would more likely consider critical, and that did not happen here.

 

Some perspective please. This was not the Concordia, or even the Triumph. Not even close.

 

I respectfully disagree. In my opinion, this was a critical incident. Was it critical in the same way that the Concordia sinking or the Triumph fire and aftermath were critical? No, of course not. Perhaps significant would be a better word, but I see this incident as such because:

 

***Celebrity is in the business of providing cruise vacations. For approximately 4,000 passengers (the last two cruises), the purchased cruise was not delivered. Reports about Celebrity's performance in communicating with the passengers concerning travel arrangements from Ketchikan are dismal.

 

***For another 2,000 or so passengers, their cruise was cancelled at the last minute. Many of those people were either en route or already in Alaska.

 

***An additional 6,000 passengers had their cruise cancelled within three weeks of their sail date. That's long after final payment and final travel arrangements were made.

 

***That's about 12,000 people who have had their vacations disrupted or cancelled. Many have gone out and purchased replacement vacations in order to not lose their non-refundable airfare or non-replaceable vacation time. Those people have now paid in full for two vacations, one of which will never happen. Yes, reimbursement will come eventually, but for some the cash flow issues could be a real problem.

 

To me those numbers are "critical" for a 12-ship company that is in the business of providing cruises. Their job and obligation is to give people what they had contracted for. To me, their failure to do so is significant given the huge numbers impacted by the mechanical problem. Was it life threatening? No. A disaster? Certainly not. Still, when you look at the scope of the people affected, it is critical, especially to approximately 12,000 passengers as well as the staff and crew of the Millennium.

[deise17311]

But, will Celebrity allow us to apply the promised future cruise credit to a cruise that we have already booked?:confused:

 

Yes, I called them on it...

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[deise17311]

I respectfully disagree. In my opinion, this was a critical incident. Was it critical in the same way that the Concordia sinking or the Triumph fire and aftermath were critical? No, of course not. Perhaps significant would be a better word, but I see this incident as such because:

 

***Celebrity is in the business of providing cruise vacations. For approximately 4,000 passengers (the last two cruises), the purchased cruise was not delivered. Reports about Celebrity's performance in communicating with the passengers concerning travel arrangements from Ketchikan are dismal.

 

***For another 2,000 or so passengers, their cruise was cancelled at the last minute. Many of those people were either en route or already in Alaska.

 

***An additional 6,000 passengers had their cruise cancelled within three weeks of their sail date. That's long after final payment and final travel arrangements were made.

 

***That's about 12,000 people who have had their vacations disrupted or cancelled. Many have gone out and purchased replacement vacations in order to not lose their non-refundable airfare or non-replaceable vacation time. Those people have now paid in full for two vacations, one of which will never happen. Yes, reimbursement will come eventually, but for some the cash flow issues could be a real problem.

 

To me those numbers are "critical" for a 12-ship company that is in the business of providing cruises. Their job and obligation is to give people what they had contracted for. To me, their failure to do so is significant given the huge numbers impacted by the mechanical problem. Was it life threatening? No. A disaster? Certainly not. Still, when you look at the scope of the people affected, it is critical, especially to approximately 12,000 passengers as well as the staff and crew of the Millennium.

 

Bravo!!! Who can possibly argue with this??

 

 

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[Shining Clem]

Wednesday night 8/21, on the Seatrade-Insider website, UBS analysts report that it is estimated that over the entire yr, the Millennium incident will only affect the bottom line by -6%.

 

They say the ship repairs will be covered by insurance. Not so the loss in revenue, which will impact the current quarter the most, but be spread over the future. It should also be remembered that not everyone offered a future cruise credit, will be able to use it, for one reason or another, thus no loss to Celebrity.

 

The stock (RCI) is near a 52 week high, and only dropped 7 cents in trading on Friday.

[MicCanberra]

 

Looking forward …

 

We are very pleased with the generous compensation offered to passengers. We are not sour on Celebrity, but we are fearful of the Millennium ship. We understand that the future cruise credit is only good for one year, so we have already booked our next cruise (to Alaska again, but this time on Solstice). And of course we will again be enjoying an AquaClass stateroom and dining in the fantastic Blu restaurant.

 

Cheers!

 

Good for you , making lemonade from lemons.:D

[LEtue]

For anyone intrested Millie is now showing up on http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

Traveling @17.1Knots 43.62643 -126.2418

 

I have been trying to track the ship ever since she left - to see what progress she was making. 17 knots isn't too bad.....

[MicCanberra]

Those who will no longer do business we with Celebrity are you also going to boycott Princess who did the samething with their ship and also Carnival.

 

Personally think you would just need to boycott the industry.

 

BTW I was on the ship and am happily going to take my free cruise and enjoyed my cruise and am now enjoying a magnificent view of Mount McKinley on a beautiful clear day in Talkeeta

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

 

I hope you enjoy your next (free) cruise and as you said, X is not alone in these issues. Although, it does seem that some companies handle them better than others.:D

[gblotter]

I have been trying to track the ship ever since she left - to see what progress she was making. 17 knots isn't too bad.....

That's my thinking too.

 

A quick google tells me that her cruising speed is 24 knots, so she is moving along pretty well it seems even with some propulsion problems.

[drarill]

Author of the original 737 rumor here. We arrived home from Vancouver yesterday. A brief synopsis of our experience.

 

Although our "cruise of a lifetime" ended differently than expected, we view the past week in a mostly positive light.

 

We are very pleased with the generous compensation offered to passengers. We are not sour on Celebrity, but we are fearful of the Millennium ship. We understand that the future cruise credit is only good for one year, so we have already booked our next cruise (to Alaska again, but this time on Solstice). And of course we will again be enjoying an AquaClass stateroom and dining in the fantastic Blu restaurant.

 

Cheers!

 

Welcome back and thanks for sharing your experience with us. I hope you have a great time next year on the Solstice.

[MicCanberra]

That's my thinking too.

 

A quick google tells me that her cruising speed is 24 knots, so she is moving along pretty well it seems even with some propulsion problems.

 

That must be close to maximum top speed. Perhaps she is surfing down the coast.:D

[cruisetrail]

I think Celebrity is very generous in the compensation provided.

 

We all have to remember that neither schedules nor routes are guaranteed by cruise lines and air lines.

This is the nature of transport.

As we book our cruises, as we step on board, we need to understand that anything may happen next day.

We are always at risk of loss of flights/cruises, vacations, etc. as long as transportation is involved.

The only way to take no risk is to stay home.

 

Cruise lines are doing their best to provide regular service.

Celebrity is not an exception.

 

I feel sorry for those affected by the incident with Celebrity ship.

But things do happen and will happen in the future.

We just don't know exact dates...

[specialdiet]

A quick google tells me that her cruising speed is 24 knots, so she is moving along pretty well it seems even with some propulsion problems.

 

Somewhere in this all there has to be a joke about the speed that cruise ships are capable of moving once you remove all the passengers who have spent too much time at the buffet!

[gblotter]

That must be close to maximum top speed. Perhaps she is surfing down the coast.:D

My prior posting was perhaps not clear.

 

Millennium's current speed is 17 knots. Her top speed is 24 knots.

 

Sorry for the confusion.

[gblotter]

Somewhere in this all there has to be a joke about the speed that cruise ships are capable of moving once you remove all the passengers who have spent too much time at the buffet!

Nice ... and true!