Celebrity not taking responsibility for their actions

[bobnpaty]

Celebrity: Take responsibility for your actions

 

We signed up for a cruise on Celebrity’s Century’s April 5th sailing going from Dubai, through the Suez Canal to Rome. Exactly one week after booking the cruise Celebrity notified our Travel Agent that the sailing was being cancelled and redeployed. The new itinerary was one night shorter and was going to Singapore with 4 stops in India. We told our travel agent to cancel our booking because we wanted Europe not Asia and we had no desire to see the ports in India. Nine alternative sailings were offered at the lowest available rate but they were Asian itineraries as well.

 

Imagine our surprise when the travel agent explained that the $3,374 airfare charge would NOT be refunded. We booked the air through Celebrity, and their subsidiary ChoiceAir was the one refusing the refund. The travel agent appealed our case to both Celebrity and ChoiceAir but our claim was flat out rejected. I tried calling Celebrity Customer Service Department myself but they just forwarded my call to Choice Air who continued to stonewall me on the issue.

 

We are Captains Club Elite Tier cruisers. We did not cancel for our own convenience; Celebrity cancelled the cruise and substituted an itinerary so completely different that it was unusable for us. And they did it within a week of our booking! I can’t believe that (what we thought was) an upstanding cruise line could refuse to take responsibility for their own actions. My advice: choose another cruise line.

Edited September 13, 2014 by Host Walt
Removed TA name at bobnpaty's request

[H2OH!]

That is unfortunate. I agree that Celebrity should refund the airfare as they moved/cancelled the cruise you booked. I hope someone from celebrity reads your post and it gets addressed.

 

Can you use your trip insurance to recover some of the cost?

[NLH Arizona]

I personally would take this further. Send an email to Michael Bayley at contactmichael@celebrity.com. It would be a different thing if you just cancelled, but since they changed the itinerary, they should, IMHO, refund your air.

[Orator]

Sorry for your problem with the air portion of the cancelled cruise. There were several post about your cancelled cruise and I believe that there was a post by Celebrity Cruises indicating that air fare booked through Choice Air would be refunded. They also offered rebooking fees. You might check for that thread. I also booked a cancelled cruise and Celebrity treated me more than fair. Hope it all works out for you. FYI: Hopefully your post isn't removed since it is a violation of posting rules to mention an agent or agency by name.

[bhughey]

This is a complicated one... choiceair is like a 3rd party booking agent, similar to expedia, travelocity, etc. Unfortunately, choiceair just processes the transaction between you and the airline and the same refund policies are in place as if you booked directly with the airline yourself - you have only 24 hours to change or cancel with no penalty (unless you purchased an unrestricted ticket).

 

I will say this, however - I have used choiceair several times in past (always booking directly - no TA), and once, was able to change my flight departure date and arrival city with NO charge. Perhaps those with choiceair experience can chime in here - but I know when I've searched for cheap flights via choiceair before, I have seen "refundable fare" and "nonrefundable fares" advertised, and maybe that's what I had in the aforementioned case. Another time, the airline (Delta) severely changed the schedule of the flight booked thru choiceair - I called Delta and they said they could easily change me to another flight at no charge because of the schedule change, but I would have to go thru choiceair to do it - which was a pain because they kept telling me they would have to charge me, even though the airline wouldn't. So, choiceair had to contact the airline and change the reservation on my behalf. In the end - I was able to change the flight @ no penalty, but the resolution did not come easily.

 

To further complicate - when you book through an agent, the agent essentially has all control over the booking and in "essence" owns the booking, so getting through to X directly will most definitely be frustrating. In this case, I do think you should get your money back... but your travel agent should probably call Choiceair and perhaps get on a three way call with the airlines in which you are booked and go from there.

 

Just my .02. GOOD LUCK!

Edited September 11, 2014 by bhughey

[richstowe]

Good luck OP with your fight (which shouldn't have to be a fight ).

I recently posted multiple times on a CC air travel thread defending choice air which others disliked.

I have always had excellent service with them . Reading your story gives me concerns.

[smtcan]

Celebrity has certainly dropped the ball on this one. We are/were booked on the same cruise and up to now have received no notice of the cancellation from Celebrity. If it was not for CruiseCritic I would not know the cruise was cancelled. I have Emailed Michael Bayley's office and up to now have only received an automated reply. We booked directly with Celebrity, no travel agent is involved.

 

Sheila

[cruisestitch]

Have you tried calling this number, which Celebrity set up to handle questions regarding this cancellation:

 

"Guests and Travel Agents with specific questions are welcome to call 1-888-283-7275."

 

and this is the statement posted by Celebrity here on Cruise Critic:

 

"Airfare

 

Guests that booked air transportation through Celebrity Cruises will receive a full refund.

 

We will assist those guests that did not purchase air transportation through Celebrity Cruises by paying for their airline change fee, up to $300 per person.

We ask that these guests please send a copy of the receipt for the change fee, along with a brief note explaining that they were booked on the April 5, 2015, sailing of Celebrity Century to the following address: Celebrity Cruises, Customer Service, 1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, FL 33132-2096."

[jelayne]

Good job Cruisestich! I knew I had read something about air fare refunds for that cruise. Hopefully with the info you provided the OP can get a refund.

[Guern69]

But only for $300pp..

[bhughey]

But only for $300pp..

 

The OP purchased through choiceair, which is part of RCI/X so I imagine they qualify. The $300pp is for airfare booked independently.

[ECCruise]

But only for $300pp..

 

 

That is only if you booked your own air.

Booked through Celebrity says full refund.

[SoBe2010]

Can not believe this. Would certainly not work here in Germany and X would be forced to refund you by law.

[melsuli]

I believe Celebrity handling of this case to be reprehensible thus far. I am wondering if the devil in this detail is in the wording......."Guests that booked air transportation through Celebrity Cruises will receive a full refund."

 

By that I mean their assertion refunds given on the basis bookings were made using them rather than a TA?

[Sloop-JohnB]

First & foremost BOBNPATY I am very sorry to hear of your troubles / frustrations with this cruise cancellation. Hopefully you will be able to get things worked out.

 

This is a complicated one... choiceair is like a 3rd party booking agent, similar to expedia, travelocity, etc. Unfortunately, choiceair just processes the transaction between you and the airline and the same refund policies are in place as if you booked directly with the airline yourself - you have only 24 hours to change or cancel with no penalty (unless you purchased an unrestricted ticket).

 

I will say this, however - I have used choiceair several times in past (always booking directly - no TA), and once, was able to change my flight departure date and arrival city with NO charge. Perhaps those with choiceair experience can chime in here - but I know when I've searched for cheap flights via choiceair before, I have seen "refundable fare" and "nonrefundable fares" advertised, and maybe that's what I had in the aforementioned case. Another time, the airline (Delta) severely changed the schedule of the flight booked thru choiceair - I called Delta and they said they could easily change me to another flight at no charge because of the schedule change, but I would have to go thru choiceair to do it - which was a pain because they kept telling me they would have to charge me, even though the airline wouldn't. So, choiceair had to contact the airline and change the reservation on my behalf. In the end - I was able to change the flight @ no penalty, but the resolution did not come easily.

 

To further complicate - when you book through an agent, the agent essentially has all control over the booking and in "essence" owns the booking, so getting through to X directly will most definitely be frustrating. In this case, I do think you should get your money back... but your travel agent should probably call Choiceair and perhaps get on a three way call with the airlines in which you are booked and go from there.

 

Just my .02. GOOD LUCK!

 

Excellent post by BHUGHEY... Especially the bit that explains what it means to be a Travel Agent (live or on line)... The Co. You are using is indeed a 3rd Party Booking Agent, and although they may good when things work out, they go be downright awful when things go wrong.

 

Sadly, most people don't understand the risks.

 

When you book direct with a provider you have far more protection when things go wrong, more so if you make a purchase with a credit card. (another example not unheard of in the TA business... Someone goes bankrupt, you are now higher up the list of Creditors... Your Name ... Vs if you don't book direct... A TA Co. Name)

 

Unless your Country / State or Province has a Travel Protection system... When things go wrong with a TA or 3rd Party, it is the Traveller who ends up behind the 8 ball losing their money and/or vacation when things go terribly wrong.

 

Using a TA with Celebrity means it is them not you who has to deal with the situation... This is one reason I am reluctant to give over my Cruise Bookings to a TA (only if things are very simple & straight forward... Driving to port for example, and I figure I have very little to lose if things go bad cause the Cruiseline makes changes and not I )

 

Many 3rd Party Booking Agent sell an "as is" product (this is why their prices appear to be so cheap)... But in return the consumer has very little or no protection

 

The easiest way to equate this is think of buying an electrical appliance from a deep discounter, flea market kiosk, or garage sale. You accet the risk knowing that the warranty may not be in effect with the manufacturer of the appliance.

 

Have you tried calling this number, which Celebrity set up to handle questions regarding this cancellation:

 

"Guests and Travel Agents with specific questions are welcome to call 1-888-283-7275."

 

and this is the statement posted by Celebrity here on Cruise Critic:

 

"Airfare

 

Guests that booked air transportation through Celebrity Cruises will receive a full refund.

 

We will assist those guests that did not purchase air transportation through Celebrity Cruises by paying for their airline change fee, up to $300 per person.

We ask that these guests please send a copy of the receipt for the change fee, along with a brief note explaining that they were booked on the April 5, 2015, sailing of Celebrity Century to the following address: Celebrity Cruises, Customer Service, 1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, FL 33132-2096."

 

I would most definitely have your TA follow up with the info that CRUISESTITCH has provided here.

 

I would not write off Celebrity quite yet...

 

Especially as it appears they have put in place a process to deal with this cancellation

 

To be honest it sounds to me like your TA is not trying hard enough on your behalf (lazy TAs are IMO a rampant problem in the industry). Keep after them !!

 

Hopefully this mess will get sorted out for you with appropriate results.

 

Cheers!

 

PS... I see you are fairly new to Cruise Critic... So here is something you may not know. On CC you are not allowed to name names of Travel Companies. As you have your entire post could be removed... Or CC Mods may just edit out that bit. Hopefully they do the latter and let this post stand.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB

[cruisestitch]

Meisuli, No, I believe that they refer to Choice Air.

 

As opposed to calling an airline company directly or booking directly on their website.

 

A Choice Air booking is billed on your Celebrity cruise reservation, and you pay Celebrity, not the airline. Or, if you pay your travel agent, the travel agent pays Celebrity.

Edited September 11, 2014 by cruisestitch

[Celebrity Cruises]

Hi all,

 

We're looking into this.

[C-Dragons]

Hi all,

 

We're looking into this.

That's good to hear, as many others on our cancelled Century Dubai to Rome cruise were affected as well.

[bobsfamily]

Hi all,

 

We're looking into this.

 

I sure wish other lines at least acknowledged that they monitored the boards here. THANKS, even though it's not my problem this time, I am aware that someone would at least see the posting if I did have one and could not get anything done thru "normal" channels.

[lucinjo]

If they indeed booked a non-refundable fare through Choice Air, they may not be able to get a refund. However, they can pay a change fee ($300) and hold the credit with Choice Air until booking a new flight. Celebrity will reimburse the $300.

If they have travel insurance it may reimburse them for a portion (or all) of the airfare if they choose to abandon the "credit" with Choice Air. It just depends on the terms of their travel insurance.

I am sure this is frustrating but their TA should have explained it all before booking their air tickets.

[cruisestitch]

I believe that if it was a refundable fare, the issue would be moot.

 

Celebrity has stated that they will provide a full refund, and in a separate statement that they are looking into it, so I think we should give them some time to sort it out.

 

I hope the OP comes back to us in a few days with the message "issue resolved"

[cruisead]

Celebrity is screwing up on so many things lately that it's a HUGE shame on them. How in heaven's name could they accept bookings for a cruise that they HAD to know was going to be totally changed? I cannot believe that this kind of change would happen overnight and that they didn't know for weeks prior to the OP booking this cruise that it was going to be changed. And now to not reimburse for Celebrity's own air program?

 

Isn't it interesting that all these things pretty much started with the new CEO? Coincidence? I think not. Time for Mr Bayley to either clean things up, including the awful website, or find another job.

[Sloop-JohnB]

But only for $300pp..

 

Ya, not much compensation for those that strike out on their own eh?

 

Enough to cover a "ticket change" but little good if one is faced with a Cruise Cancellation, like the OP

 

Our experience has shown that Choice Air thru Celebrity is competitive in pricing... Sometimes the cheaper option, sometimes a tiny bit more.

 

But that wee bit more is small potatoes in this worst case scenario

 

And because they tie in to the Cruise Line when something does go wrong one is better covered than making one's own arrangements

 

If they indeed booked a non-refundable fare through Choice Air, they may not be able to get a refund. However, they can pay a change fee ($300) and hold the credit with Choice Air until booking a new flight. Celebrity will reimburse the $300.

If they have travel insurance it may reimburse them for a portion (or all) of the airfare if they choose to abandon the "credit" with Choice Air. It just depends on the terms of their travel insurance.

I am sure this is frustrating but their TA should have explained it all before booking their air tickets.

 

100% agree

 

Another lesson to be learned here... Always travel with good solid travel insurance. Hopefully the OP has that as well.

 

Cheers!

[hcat]

Should be simple....if you booked via X and they promised a refund.. X should .just grant the refund asap ti thier customers and work it out w/choice Air,,,

 

 

For others they should absorb the full change fees at very least

 

 

In some instances like this the fine print technicalities should be put aside!

[ghstudio]

If they indeed booked a non-refundable fare through Choice Air, they may not be able to get a refund. However, they can pay a change fee ($300) and hold the credit with Choice Air until booking a new flight. Celebrity will reimburse the $300.

If they have travel insurance it may reimburse them for a portion (or all) of the airfare if they choose to abandon the "credit" with Choice Air. It just depends on the terms of their travel insurance.

I am sure this is frustrating but their TA should have explained it all before booking their air tickets.

 

It is one of the little ugly things about booking airfares these days. A cruise company will try to satisfy your "claim" by covering the change fee on non-refundable tickets. That's not so useful when you have booked an airline that you never fly on...for example a credit on Emirates Airlines wouldn't do a lot of folks much good....but the cruise company can claim they made you whole..it was your choice to book a non-refundable ticket. It's really ugly. This is not the first time Celebrity only offered to pay the change fee...it's their automatic/cut the losses answer....and it's wrong. Unfortunately, the fine print allows them to at least try this response.

 

Hopefully, as in the past, Celebrity HQ will do the right thing, although it may take a bit of prodding.

 

There's really no reasonable way to protect yourself from this happening. You could wait to buy your air tickets and the rates may go up; you can buy refundable air tickets (as if that's really a rational option..ha), you can find an insurance policy that pays you back the full amount of the tickets if the cruise company cancels the cruise (good luck on this) or you can book on airlines that you will be able to use, even if that one cruise is cancelled (our choice).