New propulsion problem on Millennium

[wwcruisers]

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!

 

Well, after all -- cargo is cargo....;)

BTW -- LOVE that tracking site -- I had been wondering about our beloved Millie's progress, after she left Ketchikan. :cool:

[Orator]

We've heard from passengers on the ship. The vast majority of posters indicated real problems. Some said they were basically satisfied. Some said there was a near riot, some disagreed. Many of urged the President of X to become more visible. He hasn't. CelebrityCruises gave some excellent updates, then seemed to vanish. At some point we MIT know why the silence. Was there confusion? Were there unanticipated logistical problems? Was Bayley being directed by lawyers? We can guess, speculate and name call all we like;however none of us including those most affected are in a position to really know the inside story. Doesn't look like Celebrity's finest hours at this point in time, but I think I'll just excuse myself from more comments until the final story is known. My heart does indeed go out to all those whose dream vacation did not meet even minimum expectations.

[MicCanberra]

My prior posting was perhaps not clear.

 

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

 

Sorry for the confusion.

 

Yes, thanks for the clarification.

Although I was not joking about the surfing, last year I was aboard a ship with a top speed of 23 knots and the captain said we were currently going 25 knots due to currents and the swells ( hence surfing). This occurred between the Aleutian islands and Japan on the back of two north Pacific tropical storms and an approaching Super typhoon from the south of Japan.:D

[sbkluvs2travel]

Just checked out this website thank you for sharing, it is so cool and I will be using it alot from now on for fun follow of certain ships and routes. THANK YOU.

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

Traveling @17.1Knots 43.62643 -126.2418

[LEtue]

Just checked out this website thank you for sharing, it is so cool and I will be using it alot from now on for fun follow of certain ships and routes. THANK YOU.

 

Warning, the site is addicting :D

[Cruising89143]

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

 

I agree that X is not alone. Of course this doesn't excuse them either. Just about every cruise lines has failed at one time or another when issues arise. A few years ago RCI left passengers stranded in San Juan when the Serenade had to leave port early due to an approaching storm. RCI left those passengers to find their own way to the next port or home. No help unless their flights were booked with RCI. After several weeks Adam Goldstein apologized for the debacle and took full blame. I just don't understand why they don't learn from these mistakes.

[timbom]

Just saw this on the Princess web sight. It shows how other companies react to problem:

 

Sun Princess was scheduled to cruise from Singapore to Perth today (Aug 20) after completing her stay in dry dock... guess dry dock kept beckoning as the departure has been cancelled.

 

I've heard that:

 

Princess have a team on hand at the terminal who are assisting passengers.

Princess will booking them flights home and are covering any incidentals as well.

Princess are will providing a full refund.

Passengers will also receive a 100% future cruise credit to all effected passengers.

 

Possible reschedule departure is now 30th August as she does have to make her way to Australia for the summer season

 

From what I saw they also contacted people and offered them refund plus 100% cruise. credit and payment for air fares.

 

They also have a lot of upset passengers but they are refunding plus giving 100% future cruise credit and 100% of air ticket charges

[CptSticky]

I agree that X is not alone. Of course this doesn't excuse them either. Just about every cruise lines has failed at one time or another when issues arise. A few years ago RCI left passengers stranded in San Juan when the Serenade had to leave port early due to an approaching storm. RCI left those passengers to find their own way to the next port or home. No help unless their flights were booked with RCI. After several weeks Adam Goldstein apologized for the debacle and took full blame. I just don't understand why they don't learn from these mistakes.

The best part of that one was that there was also a Carnival ship and Carnival stepped up to the plate and did everything right. What a contrast it was.

[johhnnyt]

Oops

[FengShui@Sea]

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...

 

This is a nice philosophy, but if that is truly the sentiment we should all embrace should it not work both ways? 'Things happen' so if I have an incident that prevents me from fulfilling my part of the contract by taking the cruise with Celebrity shouldn't they be forgiving and refund my money? After all, I do my best to show up but what if a family member is sick and I need to cancel? I'm sure you're thinking then my insurance should cover my costs.... exactly... Celebrity's insurance should cover the cost of their liability - i.e. refunding my out of pocket expenses because of their broken contract with me. FYI, we had 2 different cancellation insurance policies for this trip, and both insurers told us in this instance Celebrity was responsible for reimbursing our expenses - not our insurer.

[MicCanberra]

Warning, the site is addicting :D

 

It certainly is.:D

[MicCanberra]

Just saw this on the Princess web sight. It shows how other companies react to problem:

 

Sun Princess was scheduled to cruise from Singapore to Perth today (Aug 20) after completing her stay in dry dock... guess dry dock kept beckoning as the departure has been cancelled.

 

I've heard that:

 

Princess have a team on hand at the terminal who are assisting passengers.

Princess will booking them flights home and are covering any incidentals as well.

Princess are will providing a full refund.

Passengers will also receive a 100% future cruise credit to all effected passengers.

 

Possible reschedule departure is now 30th August as she does have to make her way to Australia for the summer season

 

From what I saw they also contacted people and offered them refund plus 100% cruise. credit and payment for air fares.

 

They also have a lot of upset passengers but they are refunding plus giving 100% future cruise credit and 100% of air ticket charges

Sounds like they want to keep some customers for the future.:D

[MicCanberra]

This is a nice philosophy, but if that is truly the sentiment we should all embrace should it not work both ways? 'Things happen' so if I have an incident that prevents me from fulfilling my part of the contract by taking the cruise with Celebrity shouldn't they be forgiving and refund my money? After all, I do my best to show up but what if a family member is sick and I need to cancel? I'm sure you're thinking then my insurance should cover my costs.... exactly... Celebrity's insurance should cover the cost of their liability - i.e. refunding my out of pocket expenses because of their broken contract with me. FYI, we had 2 different cancellation insurance policies for this trip, and both insurers told us in this instance Celebrity was responsible for reimbursing our expenses - not our insurer.

 

That is very depressing for you, I suggest you try as hard as possible with X to be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses. Then petition the insurance to pick up the rest, if any.:D

[Guest Snorkelbunny]

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.

 

You're so right about that. When something like this happens, there is certain percentage who will be unable to be placated, regardless of how it is handled. The cruise lines know this.

 

The cruise lines also know that people like me, and many others, who were on the cancelled September 13th Millie sailing and have now rebooked with other lines, are going to get onboard ships they might never have otherwise tried, maybe have the time of their lives, and never look back. More lost business for the original line.

[The_Big_M]

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!

 

Thanks for your insights - glad you were able to make the best of what was a very unexpected situation.

[Ma Bell]

You're so right about that. When something like this happens, there is certain percentage who will be unable to be placated, regardless of how it is handled. The cruise lines know this.

 

The cruise lines also know that people like me, and many others, who were on the cancelled September 13th Millie sailing and have now rebooked with other lines, are going to get onboard ships they might never have otherwise tried, maybe have the time of their lives, and never look back. More lost business for the original line.

 

Looking at your list of cruises I guess you won't miss what you never tried. Personally, I sometimes think that if people are that annoyed by something like this, whatever business it is probably better off without them. Stuff happens everywhere and if we can't handle a little disappointment once in a while I doubt we would ever be satisfied with anything.

 

There are people who can roll with the punches, especially when it's really not the end of the world, and those who can't. I often wonder what will happen when something really serious comes along.

[MicCanberra]

You're so right about that. When something like this happens, there is certain percentage who will be unable to be placated, regardless of how it is handled. The cruise lines know this.

 

The cruise lines also know that people like me, and many others, who were on the cancelled September 13th Millie sailing and have now rebooked with other lines, are going to get onboard ships they might never have otherwise tried, maybe have the time of their lives, and never look back. More lost business for the original line.

 

Some people are sure to never cruise with X again while others will return within a very short term. In the end, some gloss has been removed from the X brand name and it will take a long time (or never for some) to earn that back.:D

[Jacru]

I wasn't too happy to receive this e-mail from Celebrity this morning. It's like rubbing salt in the wound!:(

 

"As the anticipation builds for your upcoming Celebrity cruise vacation, we want thank you for choosing to sail with Celebrity Cruises."

 

I also received that message. But nothing yet from Celebrity advising of the cancellation of the 13th September cruise. Were it not for CruiseCritic, (and then Gene Sloan from USA Today) I would still be merrily planning and looking forward to a nine-day trip along the West Coast enjoying my 123 Drink Package.

[FengShui@Sea]

That is very depressing for you, I suggest you try as hard as possible with X to be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses. Then petition the insurance to pick up the rest, if any.:D

 

To be honest I don't sweat the small stuff, and in the scope of life money is small stuff. However, I just don't understand the sentiment the Celebrity should be let off the hook because 'things happen' when I can guarantee you Celebrity would not afford me the same charity. My belief is that we should all do what we have agreed to, or accept responsibility if we don't.

[Jacru]

Looking at your list of cruises I guess you won't miss what you never tried. Personally, I sometimes think that if people are that annoyed by something like this, whatever business it is probably better off without them. Stuff happens everywhere and if we can't handle a little disappointment once in a while I doubt we would ever be satisfied with anything.

 

There are people who can roll with the punches, especially when it's really not the end of the world, and those who can't. I often wonder what will happen when something really serious comes along.

 

How do you determine what is a "little disappointment". Do you know the details of every passenger's life, their motives or reasons for taking the cruise and how the cancellations will affect them?

[The_Big_M]

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

 

It's hard to generalise. There are differences even inside companies how each situation gets handled.

[The_Big_M]

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!

 

Haha, that could be the reason!

[The_Big_M]

Just saw this on the Princess web sight. It shows how other companies react to problem:

 

Sun Princess was scheduled to cruise from Singapore to Perth today (Aug 20) after completing her stay in dry dock... guess dry dock kept beckoning as the departure has been cancelled.

 

I've heard that:

 

Princess have a team on hand at the terminal who are assisting passengers.

Princess will booking them flights home and are covering any incidentals as well.

Princess are will providing a full refund.

Passengers will also receive a 100% future cruise credit to all effected passengers.

 

Possible reschedule departure is now 30th August as she does have to make her way to Australia for the summer season

 

From what I saw they also contacted people and offered them refund plus 100% cruise. credit and payment for air fares.

 

They also have a lot of upset passengers but they are refunding plus giving 100% future cruise credit and 100% of air ticket charges

 

The only difference there between Princess and Celebrity is the payment of the airfares.

 

However, the two markets, for the US and Australia (where the Princess passengers are from) are different in terms of insurance and air travel.

 

Compared to the US, there is less 'domestic' travel and many distances are further away. Most of the passengers on the Celebrity cruise were just on domestic flights (AK - US). Here, all the travel that was incurred was international. So the situation is quite different. Also, insurance conditions are quite different.

 

I don't see that the two responses were markedly different, in comparison to the situations themselves being different.

[MicCanberra]

It's hard to generalise. There are differences even inside companies how each situation gets handled.

 

The fundamental issue after the breakdown, was a failure in communication. Things become chaotic when the communication failed (in some cases - mixed messages).:D

[Guest Snorkelbunny]

Looking at your list of cruises I guess you won't miss what you never tried. Personally, I sometimes think that if people are that annoyed by something like this, whatever business it is probably better off without them. Stuff happens everywhere and if we can't handle a little disappointment once in a while I doubt we would ever be satisfied with anything.

 

There are people who can roll with the punches, especially when it's really not the end of the world, and those who can't. I often wonder what will happen when something really serious comes along.

 

I was so looking forward to finally sailing with Celebrity and will definitely be applying my FCC to something in the next year, but probably not on this class of ship, lol;-) Stuff does happen and I actually feel we were pretty lucky. My heart went out to everyone onboard and for those on the next two sailings, where time to plan for other options was next to nothing. We had three weeks and worked it out, because that's what we do:-)

 

Can't say I agree that a player in the competitive cruise industry is better off without anyone's business, but I'm sure their customer service staff and onboard front desk personnel live's might be made easier....then again, I suppose it depends how vocal they may have been even about the little things.