Celebrity falsely advertising inside passage

[BILL-WI]

If the ship visits Juneau or Skagway or Ketchikan, it has to cruise through at least that part of the inside passage, so they may truthfully list it on the itinerary.

 

It is kind of they way they may list asparagus on the menu with your entree when they include only one small piece of asparagus. :D

 

 

In a nut shell...the map showed us sailing between Vancouver Island and the mainland on the way to Vancouver, that DID NOT happen. We were on the WEST side of Vancouver Island.

 

The written daily itinerary schedule, showed inside passage sailing, when we were clearly on the WEST side of Vancouver Island...

 

Yes, we sailed in the inside passage to Skagway and Juneau, as advertized....but that is not what is being questioned here.

 

BILL

[rockdoctor]

With the size of today's cruise ships, looking for an inside passage cruise to Alaska is like looking for a high yield savings account.

[varoo]

With the size of today's cruise ships, looking for an inside passage cruise to Alaska is like looking for a high yield savings account.

Actually the Millennium's routing is pretty nice, especially if you get a captain who takes you up Grenville Channel (not shown on the route posted in message # 13) and is also able to get you in close to Hubbard Glacier on a day when it is actively calving.

 

It's not like small ship cruising, but then it is not the price of those small ship cruises either.

 

 

As for the Solstice, it always goes west of Vancouver Island.

I think whoever made up the brochure map was just looking for a picture to stick in that space, noticed the names of some of the ports and figured it would do.

 

 

According to the cruise contract they have the right to change the itinerary and skip or substitute ports, so there is nothing passengers can do about it.

 

Our experience has been that when they skipped or substituted a port, they usually gave us some kind of token compensation to try to appease us, but not when they just altered the route taken.

 

[K.T.B.]

I just took a peek at Celebrity's website to see how they describe the itinerary. And it's accurate to what it shows on the map. If they're saying they're at sea (west of Vancouver Island), that's what it shows; if they're saying they're sailing the inside passage, that's also what it shows.

 

Here's what one cruise description for Solstice says:

 

Day 1 Vancouver, British Columbia 5:00PM

Day 2 At Sea

Day 3 Ketchikan, Alaska Docked 7:00AM 4:00PM

Day 4 Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska Cruising 6:00AM 10:00AM

Day 4 Juneau, Alaska Docked 1:30PM 10:00PM

Day 5 Inside Passage, Alaska Cruising

Day 5 Skagway, Alaska Docked 7:00AM 6:00PM

Day 6 At Sea

Day 7 Victoria, British Columbia Docked 6:00PM 11:59PM

Day 8 Seattle, Washington 7:00AM

 

 

Here's the map for the itinerary:

 

 

This may NOT be the cruise the OP was talking about, but Celebrity does show what they describe in this case.

[Cruise Junky]

I just took a peek at Celebrity's website to see how they describe the itinerary. And it's accurate to what it shows on the map. If they're saying they're at sea (west of Vancouver Island), that's what it shows; if they're saying they're sailing the inside passage, that's also what it shows.

 

Here's what one cruise description for Solstice says:

 

Day 1 Vancouver, British Columbia 5:00PM

Day 2 At Sea

Day 3 Ketchikan, Alaska Docked 7:00AM 4:00PM

Day 4 Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska Cruising 6:00AM 10:00AM

Day 4 Juneau, Alaska Docked 1:30PM 10:00PM

Day 5 Inside Passage, Alaska Cruising

Day 5 Skagway, Alaska Docked 7:00AM 6:00PM

Day 6 At Sea

Day 7 Victoria, British Columbia Docked 6:00PM 11:59PM

Day 8 Seattle, Washington 7:00AM

 

 

Here's the map for the itinerary:

 

 

This may NOT be the cruise the OP was talking about, but Celebrity does show what they describe in this case.

 

How is it accurate? The map shows it sailing between the Mainland and the Island..Solstice won't fit. That's the complaint.

[K.T.B.]

How is it accurate? The map shows it sailing between the Mainland and the Island..Solstice won't fit. That's the complaint.

 

The body of water between Vancouver and Vancouver Island is not the Inside Passage. The complaint is that Celebrity did not sail in the Inside Passage. When in fact when you leave Vancouver, you're not in the Inside Passage.

 

Look at the map, it shows where the Inside Passage begins.

[Cruise Junky]

The body of water between Vancouver and Vancouver Island is not the Inside Passage. The complaint is that Celebrity did not sail in the Inside Passage. When in fact when you leave Vancouver, you're not in the Inside Passage.

 

 

 

Look at the map, it shows where the Inside Passage begins.

 

 

That's celebrity's idea if where the inside passage starts... Not reality. The complaint is that the route map shows solstice sailing the BC inside passage which it doesn't.

 

 

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[K.T.B.]

That's celebrity's idea if where the inside passage starts... Not reality. The complaint is that the route map shows solstice sailing the BC inside passage which it doesn't.

 

 

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Then how does it get out of Vancouver?

[Cruise Junky]

Then how does it get out of Vancouver?

 

 

It goes back around the tip of the island into open ocean on the west side of the island

 

 

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[LMKohler]

We sailed Millennium from Seward to Vancouver in August. We were in the Inside Passage the entire last sea day and it was fascinating scenery. Our Captain also got us close to Hubbard Glacier to see calving. The problem may be that S class ships are larger than M class but don't really know. I do know our trip was awesome!!!!

 

 

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[K.T.B.]

It goes back around the tip of the island into open ocean on the west side of the island

 

 

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So, then, day 2 is correct based on what I posted. Here, allow me to re-post it:

 

Day 1 Vancouver, British Columbia 5:00PM

Day 2 At Sea

Day 3 Ketchikan, Alaska Docked 7:00AM 4:00PM

Day 4 Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska Cruising 6:00AM 10:00AM

Day 4 Juneau, Alaska Docked 1:30PM 10:00PM

Day 5 Inside Passage, Alaska Cruising

Day 5 Skagway, Alaska Docked 7:00AM 6:00PM

Day 6 At Sea

Day 7 Victoria, British Columbia Docked 6:00PM 11:59PM

Day 8 Seattle, Washington 7:00AM

 

I've checked all 5 itineraries, including the cruisetours, for Solstice in 2015. They all say "Day 2 At Sea". Granted, the OP is complaining about a 2014 sailing, but I do seem to recall the exact same wording.

[Cruise Junky]

So, then, day 2 is correct based on what I posted. Here, allow me to re-post it:

 

 

 

Day 1 Vancouver, British Columbia 5:00PM

 

Day 2 At Sea

 

Day 3 Ketchikan, Alaska Docked 7:00AM 4:00PM

 

Day 4 Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska Cruising 6:00AM 10:00AM

 

Day 4 Juneau, Alaska Docked 1:30PM 10:00PM

 

Day 5 Inside Passage, Alaska Cruising

 

Day 5 Skagway, Alaska Docked 7:00AM 6:00PM

 

Day 6 At Sea

 

Day 7 Victoria, British Columbia Docked 6:00PM 11:59PM

 

Day 8 Seattle, Washington 7:00AM

 

 

 

I've checked all 5 itineraries, including the cruisetours, for Solstice in 2015. They all say "Day 2 At Sea". Granted, the OP is complaining about a 2014 sailing, but I do seem to recall the exact same wording.

 

 

Well you are at sea whichever way you go. But the complaints here are about changing the MAP

 

 

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[zwolinski]

We are talking about the sailing on Solstice of 9/12 - 9/23, 12 days.

[Cruise Junky]

We are talking about the sailing on Solstice of 9/12 - 9/23, 12 days.

 

Any of the solstice sailings that begin or end in Vancouver really.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Solstice also has a problem docking in one of the Alaska ports because it is so big. When you cruise for scenic itinerary, you should choose a smaller ship that can actually fit in the places you want to see.

[fleckle]

Just an interesting observation:

 

It appears that someone from Celebrity has been reading this thread as they have corrected the map for next year's Solstice end-of-season repositioning cruise from Seattle to Vancouver (the Sept. 11, 2015 sailing), replacing it with a map that shows the "outside" routing around the west side of Vancouver Island in both directions.

 

 

Both those days are described as "At Sea" on the itinerary listing as well.

 

I noticed that it lists "Inside Passage" only on day 8, after Juneau, even though it will be in part of the Inside Passage before that as well.

 

Edited October 21, 2014 by fleckle

[Cruise Junky]

Just an interesting observation:

 

It appears that someone from Celebrity has been reading this thread as they have corrected the map for next year's Solstice end-of-season repositioning cruise from Seattle to Vancouver (the Sept. 11, 2015 sailing), replacing it with a map that shows the "outside" routing around the west side of Vancouver Island in both directions.

 

 

Both those days are described as "At Sea" on the itinerary listing as well.

 

I noticed that it lists "Inside Passage" only on day 8, after Juneau, even though it will be in part of the Inside Passage before that as well.

 

 

Yeah! Mission accomplished. Thanks for posting.

[LeftcoastBC]

I just posted this in the Alaska Forum

 

Has always been this. Today they came out with "An email deal"

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/spec...=SPECIAL_CC_LM

 

Check out the route that they show for the Solstice and then tell me if you do not agree that this is really close to at least fibbing if you look at the map. Of course they only mention the "inside Passage" as being Alaska on the actual itinerary.

 

end of post

 

Check out the MAP.(3rd deal down) It clearly shows the ship going north through the "Inside Passage" (which runs from Seattle to Alaska ) between Vancouver Island and the Mainland.

 

It's just not right to do that when there is no way the ship goes that way.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Beware! Celebrity Cruises is advertising many of it's Alaska sailings as doing the Inside Passage when in fact it doesn't do any sort of Inside Passage at all.

 

I'm glad the map got fixed, but the semantics of this thread are still very sloppy. The new route map shows that Celebrity in fact does sail the Inside Passage from below Ketchikan to Skagway (as correctly shown on the new map). What it doesn't do is sail the Johnstone Strait, but at least half of the cruise is in the Inside Passage.

 

Because of all this confusion, the real point has been lost: this is not an ideal itinerary and it is better to choose a ship that can sail the Johnstone Strait, which is very scenic and also promises a smoother ride than the open ocean to the West of Vancouver Island.

[shipfriend_max]

Hi,

 

how is it on the Northern Glacier route from Vancouver to Seward (Millennium)?

Does she sail through the "whole Inside Passage" (east side of Vancouver Island)?

Help would be appreciated! :)

 

 

In the picture it seems that the ship is sailing the Inside Passage at the east side of Vancouver Island.

Edited October 22, 2014 by celebrity_fan

[chief190]

There are many ships that sail "the inside passage between Vancouver island and BC mainland". Have been on rots rccl ship twice and leaving Vancouver at 5:00 pm by the time you get up there its dark and you can't see anything but a few light from shore. By morning your out. What is the big deal.

[SheriffJoe]

There are many ships that sail "the inside passage between Vancouver island and BC mainland". Have been on rots rccl ship twice and leaving Vancouver at 5:00 pm by the time you get up there its dark and you can't see anything but a few light from shore. By morning your out. What is the big deal.

 

When we sailed it on Mercury we woke up looking out our balcony window to snow covered mountains less than 100 yards from us. Either your ships traveled too fast thru the straight or they actually did not transit that area....we still had great views till noon, maybe even later than that, I cant recall exactly when we moved into more open ocean but it was after lunch for sure.

[LeftcoastBC]

Hi,

 

how is it on the Northern Glacier route from Vancouver to Seward (Millennium)?

Does she sail through the "whole Inside Passage" (east side of Vancouver Island)?

Help would be appreciated! :)

 

 

In the picture it seems that the ship is sailing the Inside Passage at the east side of Vancouver Island.

 

YES M class ships that are scheduled from Vancouver are able to make that transit and do so regularly.

[fleckle]

Hi,

 

how is it on the Northern Glacier route from Vancouver to Seward (Millennium)?

Does she sail through the "whole Inside Passage" (east side of Vancouver Island)?

Help would be appreciated! :)

 

 

In the picture it seems that the ship is sailing the Inside Passage at the east side of Vancouver Island.

Yes, that is the route posted for the Millennium's northbound itinerary, but the captain has freedom to deviate from it.

 

So if you get lucky, your ship may instead go up through the scenic inland channels above Vancouver Island to the east of the route shown, bypassing the open waters of Queen Charlotte Sound, which can tend to be somewhat rough at times.

 

If your Millennium captain takes you up through Grenville Channel instead of sticking to the main route shown on this map, the second day of your cruise will be a very scenic special treat indeed, traveling up a narrow channel with land surrounding you closely on both sides.

 

 

When you are on the Millennium, look for a very large route map on a stand, usually placed on deck 10 near the buffet entrance on the side close to the central elevators, or else on deck 3 near Guest Relations.

On it they mark off the route that the ship is actually traveling, expanding the line day by day as you go along.

 

If you bring your own map over to it, you can mark it to correspond and have your own map of the route that your ship actually traveled.

You should also be able to turn the TV in your cabin to the navigation channel and see your ship's actual location there at any time.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2014 by fleckle

[shipfriend_max]

OK, thank you very much for the information.

The Grenville Channel surely is a great experience, but I would even be happy about the "normal" Inside Passage between Vanc. Island and mainland.

But there is not the possibility that the ship sails the Pacific, west from Vanc. Island?

 

The part between Vancouver Island and main land: Will this be passed druing day- or nighttime on northbound cruises?