Website issues. Not new but needed to vent

[bubbadogmom]

Grrrrr.......finally picked a cabin - spent 5 hours deciding, go to book and of course, the website doesn't work. Won't let me get past the "add guest" part.

 

Tried logging out, etc, all the usual - nope. I can't call as I am at work.

 

How annoying to want to give someone $$ and they won't take it!

[matt0148]

They certainly do have issues.

 

This is an excerpt from I received from an email a few days ago:

 

YOUR COURTESY HOLD WAS PLACED AT: 11:11 AM EST on Juanuary 6.

YOUR COURTESY HOLD WILL EXPIRE AT: 11:11 AM EST on Juanuary 7.

 

I bet there is an IT guy at Celebrity named Juan having a chuckle...

[vtcruising]

Grrrrr.......finally picked a cabin - spent 5 hours deciding, go to book and of course, the website doesn't work. Won't let me get past the "add guest" part.

 

Tried logging out, etc, all the usual - nope. I can't call as I am at work.

 

How annoying to want to give someone $$ and they won't take it!

 

Same thing happened to me yesterday so I put it on courtesy hold. A rep called me today to see about closing the deal before I could go back in to see if I could pay the deposit on-line. :)

[nineteen]

Same thing happened to me yesterday so I put it on courtesy hold. A rep called me today to see about closing the deal before I could go back in to see if I could pay the deposit on-line. :)

 

Us also, just got off the phone with a very friendly rep to complete our booking. saved me the phone call and/or dreaded web site log on I was planning today. :):) another cruise booked !!

[K.T.B.]

I'm trying to put another payment on my cruise and of course it doesn't work. So I need to call (again) and talk to my TA (again) in order to put another payment down via a phone call (again).

[WestCoastFlyer]

While I cannot compare Celebrity to other cruise lines, I can say that they have the absolute worst website of any travel related company I use.

 

One of the greatest frustrations has been having all of my travel and my companion information updated in my profile and then having to input it again when checking in. Nothing stored in one area seems to be shared with other areas.

 

Don't even get me started about the number of links that go to pages that don't work or the number of times I can't login because the system is down.

 

Their website should operate just like an airline website. All my profile data and preferences should be available and pre-populated anytime I do anything. I should be able to see a deck plan with every cabin available to me when I book - there is at least 1 online travel agent that already does this. I should be able to change my cabin online, up to a reasonable time before departure, if something opens up (regardless of who I booked with)

 

Celebrity, if you are reading, you are missing the boat

[ghstudio]

While I cannot compare Celebrity to other cruise lines, I can say that they have the absolute worst website of any travel related company I use.

 

One of the greatest frustrations has been having all of my travel and my companion information updated in my profile and then having to input it again when checking in. Nothing stored in one area seems to be shared with other areas.

 

Don't even get me started about the number of links that go to pages that don't work or the number of times I can't login because the system is down.

 

Their website should operate just like an airline website. All my profile data and preferences should be available and pre-populated anytime I do anything. I should be able to see a deck plan with every cabin available to me when I book - there is at least 1 online travel agent that already does this. I should be able to change my cabin online, up to a reasonable time before departure, if something opens up (regardless of who I booked with)

 

Celebrity, if you are reading, you are missing the boat

 

You are absolutely correct on all your points....but you forget that Celebrity is in a cut all expenses in all departments mode. You are suggesting spending....that's a no no.

[vtcruising]

While I cannot compare Celebrity to other cruise lines, I can say that they have the absolute worst website of any travel related company I use.

 

One of the greatest frustrations has been having all of my travel and my companion information updated in my profile and then having to input it again when checking in. Nothing stored in one area seems to be shared with other areas.

 

Don't even get me started about the number of links that go to pages that don't work or the number of times I can't login because the system is down.

 

Their website should operate just like an airline website. All my profile data and preferences should be available and pre-populated anytime I do anything. I should be able to see a deck plan with every cabin available to me when I book - there is at least 1 online travel agent that already does this. I should be able to change my cabin online, up to a reasonable time before departure, if something opens up (regardless of who I booked with)

 

Celebrity, if you are reading, you are missing the boat

 

Every time I am on Celebrity's website I am taken back to the 90's when business websites were all trying to figure it out and were clunky, slow and links didn't work well (and we had dial up to add to the frustration). We have some small local businesses with better functioning websites. There is really no excuse for Celebrity not having an amazing website to go with their amazing cruises.

 

Hope it is one of their New Year's resolutions! :)

[RickT]

The uselessness of the Celebrity website is well known and well documented.

 

Good thing their cruise product is worth it.....

 

This morning I checked to see if any nicer cabins were available for my upcoming cruise on the Equinox. It showed me two available verandahs on Deck 7 and would have also let me book a guarantee verandah on Deck 3 :eek:

 

I passed, figured a verandah on deck 3 might get a bit wet on sea days.

[RickT]

I'm trying to put another payment on my cruise and of course it doesn't work. So I need to call (again) and talk to my TA (again) in order to put another payment down via a phone call (again).

 

Maybe I'm not reading your post correctly but I've never been able to make a payment on my cruise directly with Celebrity when my booking has been with a TA. The TA has had to process all the payments.

Edited January 8, 2015 by RickT

[Sapphire723]

Grrrrr.......finally picked a cabin - spent 5 hours deciding, go to book and of course, the website doesn't work. Won't let me get past the "add guest" part.

 

Tried logging out, etc, all the usual - nope. I can't call as I am at work.

 

How annoying to want to give someone $$ and they won't take it!

 

Part of the reason why using a TA sometimes might be helpful. A lot of times, they go through the same problems, but at least they'll spend their time and frustration working it out instead of yours!

[Vagabondage]

While I cannot compare Celebrity to other cruise lines, I can say that they have the absolute worst website of any travel related company I use.

 

You've got that right! It's amazing that after years and years of complaints, they still do nothing to improve their online functioning.

 

Today I went online to pay the $25pp deposit on each of the two cruises I'd put on hold yesterday and the website repeatedly insisted on billing me the full amount for both cruises ~ over $8K. When I called X, the agent wouldn't believe that the website wouldn't accept the proper amount. Finally after she consulted with supervisors she agreed that the computer is not recognizing this week's special reduced deposit, so she did it manually. I asked for written confirmation on both, and so far have received just one.

 

I suggest that if anyone is trying to book under the temporary anniversary special, you'd better call Celebrity to do it.

 

Cheers!

[Wastegirl]

Never had a problem with the HAL website, when I booked our 2016 P&O Australia cruise, easy peasy, so user friendly. Just finished booking our Princess cruise for October through our TA. He had barely placed the booking and I went onto the Princess site to organise my Log In with them because I had never sailed with them before and lo and behold there was my booking linked automatically to my new log in, I didn't have to do a thing. Then this was followed up with a very nice and personalised (I know the computer did it but the info was right) email from Princess welcoming me and giving me all the details of my cruise.

 

I said to my DH later that the Celebrity web site certainly plays a part in who we book with, now unless they are offering a cruise at a really good rate to somewhere different to other lines, our Solstice trip with Celebrity will be our last because the web site just caused so much grief. My sister and her DH who are travelling with us think the same thing.

[Martini Queenie]

I feel your pain! I did the same thing last night, found two cruises put them on hold during the day, came home to book them with the special $25/person deposit and then a error - updating website! Really?? What is it updating during the middle of my payment? The website certainly has not improved. After spending three hours trying to go back in and shutting down, logging back in, same thing. I finally called and got a hold of the nicest Celebrity Rep named Tina. She had no problem seeing my holds and taking my deposits and booking the cruises. I could not believe how easy it was and I only waited on the phone for a minute. Checked online today and my two cruises are out there with all the 123Go perks, I am super impressed:)

My recommendation is just call Celebrity to complete your booking!

[cruise kitty]

So, yes I'm venting here :mad:

 

Just checked my reservation, it's finally showing my promised 123 all in & my additional OBC from my open passage, Yea!! :) Happiness, so I will make a nice payment (we like to have our cruises paid off about 6 months ahead of time.

 

I make my payment... & voila, a message appears basically stating, thanks for your $1000, btw, you're no longer eligible for the all inclusive offer so we took it away....

 

Actually what it says is:

 

Promotion ALLINC123 dropped ineligible for promotion

 

WTH Celebrity??? Oh & I received two emails... one from Celebrity thanking me for making a new reservation with a $700 deposit, (never happened ) & another from rccl thanking me for my $1000 payment, & showing an invoice with NO 123 all in....

 

I now have 5 invoices, all for the same cruise, all showing different amounts owed, credited, paid, OBC, ect. ....not one of them is correct. :confused:

 

I booked this cruise on November 28th, & so far, this reservation has been nothing but trouble, countless hours on hold, endless frustration.... & of course, Captains Club is not open to help me.

 

Sorry, I know this is a pathetic rant, & I may regret it in the morning, but I just want to enjoy planning my trip, not go through this constant uncertainty every time I make a payment.

 

 

If the Celebrity Official can shed any light on what the heck is going on, I'd appreciate it... How can I be eligible for the 123 all in when I booked, but suddenly not when I just make a payment????

[kendracruises]

They won't fix their website cause they are lazy, incompetent or just plain too stupid to do it or hire the right people to do it IMHO.

Edited January 9, 2015 by kendracruises

[Sharon45069]

I have also been having issues with the web site. This has been going on for a week now. If anyone can tell us what's happening , it would be helpful. In the mean time we will contact our TA tomorrow for assistance.

[jveevers]

I continually had the same problem with not getting past add guest. There is little section on that page that drops down and gives you info including "cost breakdown".

It refused to open in IE but finally I tried doing the whole booking in Chrome and it worked perfect.

[vulcan1971]

 

This morning I checked to see if any nicer cabins were available for my upcoming cruise on the Equinox. It showed me two available verandahs on Deck 7 and would have also let me book a guarantee verandah on Deck 3 :eek:

 

 

 

I passed, figured a verandah on deck 3 might get a bit wet on sea days.

 

 

That is a new feature on the EDGE class ships that must have been leaked. ;)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network using Tapatalk Pro

[LzyCruiser_NWA]

So, yes I'm venting here :mad:

 

Just checked my reservation, it's finally showing my promised 123 all in & my additional OBC from my open passage, Yea!! :) Happiness, so I will make a nice payment (we like to have our cruises paid off about 6 months ahead of time.

 

If the Celebrity Official can shed any light on what the heck is going on, I'd appreciate it... How can I be eligible for the 123 all in when I booked, but suddenly not when I just make a payment????

 

How long did it take for you to show up the OBC and 123 inclusive packages?

 

All these website issues are giving me jitters.

Edited January 9, 2015 by LzyCruiser_NWA

[DinaS]

Never had a problem with the HAL website, when I booked our 2016 P&O Australia cruise, easy peasy, so user friendly. Just finished booking our Princess cruise for October through our TA. He had barely placed the booking and I went onto the Princess site to organise my Log In with them because I had never sailed with them before and lo and behold there was my booking linked automatically to my new log in, I didn't have to do a thing. Then this was followed up with a very nice and personalised (I know the computer did it but the info was right) email from Princess welcoming me and giving me all the details of my cruise.

 

I said to my DH later that the Celebrity web site certainly plays a part in who we book with, now unless they are offering a cruise at a really good rate to somewhere different to other lines, our Solstice trip with Celebrity will be our last because the web site just caused so much grief. My sister and her DH who are travelling with us think the same thing.

 

 

The saddest part of all this is that Celebrity doesn't seem to care about the long-time customers they are losing, or the first time Celebrity customers who are getting so frustrated that they are cancelling before they even cruise.

 

I know of one couple (long-time cruisers - first time booking Celebrity) who finally cancelled when they started dealing with all of the website issues.

 

I have come very close to cancelling as well, but will probably try Celebrity this time.

 

I'll be honest - the cruise will have to be AMAZING and MUCH better than any other lines I have been on to get me to come back. The website issues simply aren't worth it UNLESS the cruise experience is EXCEPTIONAL! Even then, these website problems, including the Connections Party issues, should NOT exist on the website of a reputable company.

 

CELEBRITY - PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR HORRIFIC WEBSITE AND THE CONTINUING PROBLEMS! HIRE SOME COMPETENT IT PEOPLE!

Edited January 9, 2015 by DinaS

[K.T.B.]

Maybe I'm not reading your post correctly but I've never been able to make a payment on my cruise directly with Celebrity when my booking has been with a TA. The TA has had to process all the payments.

 

You're reading it correctly. This was the first time I used a TA to book. Usually I just do it myself via the website. But considering the website issues....

 

At least that explains why I'm unable to pay money! :D

 

Thanks!

[cle-guy]

When will mods just make Website issues a sticky like the dress code thread and consolidate all of them into it.

 

Its like the movie Groundhog Day seeing all the website threads.

[cruise kitty]

How long did it take for you to show up the OBC and 123 inclusive packages?

 

All these website issues are giving me jitters.

 

Hi, I booked on Nov. 28th, & it didn't show up until after New Year's

 

However, my OBC showed all along $400 total, $100 from my open passage (thought it should have been more?) & $300 from the 123 all inclusive

 

I'm steeling myself for a long phone call with the captain's club :eek:

[cruise kitty]

Update: phoned Captain's Club, had a 10 minute wait (not bad) & helpful captain's club operator was able to fix my problem, 123 all inclusive & my open passage OBC is showing on my reservation again....

 

she has no idea why the problem occurred in the first place, & I've decided all future payments will probably happen over the phone, not on the website. :)

 

As for the email thanking me for my new booking & the $700? It will remain as one of life's little mysteries :D