No air conditioning in your stateroom? How would you react?

[ljk76]

We are on the admittedly unique Xpedition for a Galapagos cruise in a bit more than a month. It has been widely reported on CC that the AC in cabin 317 is not functioning properly and that what has been offered, "if available", is a fan. We are talking about a cruise on the equator. This is a pricey cruise to say the least. We booked 2 1/2 years ago, while on Summit. We also encouraged some friends to join us, who are one cabin away. What would you do/expect? O

[cb at sea]

They will have it fixed.....it's an entire month away!

 

Call them, and ask what your options are, should the problem not be fixed!

[cynbar]

Oh my goodness -- at this stage of my life, I will not be too hot or too cold. I would go to guest services if still a problem when you arrive and if they can't fix the problem, escalate my complaints up the chain. Totally unacceptable, especially for the price paid.

Edited June 28, 2015 by cynbar

[GUT2407]

Call them NOW

 

get their response in writing.

 

If it is that big an issue [not criticizing you just saying that to some it wouldn't matter to others it would] cancel if no satisfactory answer.

[TJMK]

Are you staying in 317?

[Langley Cruisers]

We are on the admittedly unique Xpedition for a Galapagos cruise in a bit more than a month. It has been widely reported on CC that the AC in cabin 317 is not functioning properly and that what has been offered, "if available", is a fan.

 

Forgive me, I am not calling you a liar but I would be interested in reading the accounts of this problem? I ran several searches and nothing came up about this cabin and poorly-functioning A/C.

[WpgCruise]

I wouldn't give it a thought.

 

Once on the ship if there is a problem (any room problem) I'd deal with it by escalating (Steward--Front Desk--Hotel Manager) until it is fixed.

 

Ships are mechanical beings. Just because something is broke today does not mean it will be broke for you on your cruise.

 

Stuff breaks, stuff is repaired, and all is good.

[flames9]

Im in Quito..in the dry season now and believe the temps are cooler..maybe even cooler on the water with the breeze http://www.galapagosislands.com/galapagos-resources/galapagos-weather.html

[searoses]

I would have a panic attack.....nothing makes me unhappier on vacation than to be too hot at night...I live in maine.....use the ac in the winter when I visit places that are above 50 degrees at night!....I would call the resolution people before I left!

[ljk76]

Forgive me, I am not calling you a liar but I would be interested in reading the accounts of this problem? I ran several searches and nothing came up about this cabin and poorly-functioning A/C.

 

This is the link to the thread that seems to be all things Xpedition related. It's part 3 of 3. When we booked the room 2 1/2 years ago I didn't find any issues with 317 in a search, but it certainly seems there are ongoing unresolved problems at this time.

 

It's a very small ship, usually fully booked, and it seems the best guest services is doing is offering a fan...if they have one.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=43353240#post43353240

[boltnut55]

Yeah, I would freak out... I live in the San Francisco area. Mathematically, I don't know what it really is, but I generally tell people that it's always 55-65 degrees. Personally, I start getting a little grumpy around 70.

 

The AC is the first thing I turn on in a hotel to ensure it works if needed and generally it is. It was 73-77 inside my house today, and the AC was on. Most houses here (as well as most small businesses here) don't have AC.

 

Good luck.

[4774Papa]

I say that when we did the repo cruise from FLL through the Panama Canal to Chile, and stopped in Ecuador, we were surprised at how mild the temp was, especially while at sea.

 

We did another cruise from Singapore (very near the equator) to Dubai in late March and found the heat in Singapore, Malaysia and India to be in the mid-90s and a very hot mid-90s compared to our south Georgia mie-90s.

[FlorenceItaly]

My hot flashes would not be happy! Plus, what you are paying for this cruise....this would not be acceptable.

[Snit13]

Many of you who have responded to this post appear not to understand the "situation. This is an expedition ship or as it is described "a luxury yacht."

You can not compare her to any other Celebrity ship. She only carries about 98 passengers plus crew and naturalists. We sailed her in April a few years ago. You don't just cancel a cruise you have booked 2 1/2 years ago, especially after final pay. This is a very expensive cruise.

 

Since seasons are reversed N/S it should not be that warm in the Pacific off coast of Equador at this time of year. That being said, I would hope it will be repaired before your arrival.

 

Host Jazz has a thread on Message Board and you may like to contact him and see if he knows what is happening. I find it hard to believe that it would not be repaired.

 

Have an awesome cruise. It is by far our favorite and if you are an animal lover you will see what I mean.

[hillslife]

We just did a long cruise on a big Princess ship where our cabin air was not functioning right...our cabin was always too warm. I am always hot anyway, so bothered me more than DH. We complained daily, from embarkation on, there was no where to move to, they tried repeatedly to fix it, but not able. I hated lying in bed and being hot..getting out of the shower and sweating. The rest of the ship was fine, in fact cold in some areas, but our cabin was stifling....in the end they could not repair it and gave us a $800 OBC to compensate us for our discomfort...that was nice, but I would definitely make sure it gets resolved BEFORE getting on a small yacht...not a lot of choices at that point.

 

Plus the expedition size ships don't have all the technical /mechanical resources the large ships have...we lost a generator in Antarctica on a explorer ship and had to come home early because they couldn't fix it at Sea...so expensive trips, small ships and you don't want to be disappointed.

 

Good luck.

[Merriem]

We were in 602 in January. The AC did not work well, and they finally got it corrected. First they brought some fans in that made a horrible noise, and it was at least a day before it was somewhat comfortable.

 

The first trip 10 years ago we were on deck 3, and I don't remember an issue. IMHO this ship is not what it was when they started.

 

I guess if you have never been before, it would be okay, but we both found that it had changed, and not for the better.

[chemmo]

This is clearly an issue that will worry you if you are not reassured. Contact Celebrity direct, ask them if there aregeneral AC issues and more importantly an AC I issue with your cabin and go from there.

 

This is a holiday of a lifetime cruise, you should be thinking of those blue footed boobies not AC on the ship!! The cruise is expensive, you need speak to Celebrity, put all worries in the bin and begin to prepare for a holiday of a lifetime.

 

All the very best, I am sure Celebrity will be able to put your mind at rest. Have an amazing trip.

[ljk76]

This is clearly an issue that will worry you if you are not reassured. Contact Celebrity direct, ask them if there aregeneral AC issues and more importantly an AC I issue with your cabin and go from there.

 

This is a holiday of a lifetime cruise, you should be thinking of those blue footed boobies not AC on the ship!! The cruise is expensive, you need speak to Celebrity, put all worries in the bin and begin to prepare for a holiday of a lifetime.

 

All the very best, I am sure Celebrity will be able to put your mind at rest. Have an amazing trip.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I know it is the cooler season, but I will take your advice to contact Celebrity and hope they have a plan. You are right...I want to be thinking about the animals, the right footwear and hat, ...not AC!

[ECCruise]

Those who postulate about "don't worry, they will fix it" are either very optimistic or not familiar with Xpedition. This is not a 1200 cabin ship with multiple spares and back-ups that would make such a fix easy. This is a 50 cabin ship that has very limited space. It is also not sailing out of an area of the world where there would be easy part availability. It is also a one-off ship, meaning spares may be in short supply or needing fabrication.

 

Yes, this is the dry season and the temps are more moderate, but they still will be in mid-80s day and mid-70s night with pretty high humidity. I might be confident that they will get it fixed, but would want this straightened out to my satisfaction before leaving.

Edited June 28, 2015 by ECCruise

[Host Jazzbeau]

To follow up on what ECCruise just said, Xpedition is also unique in that it never docks. Every stop in the Galapagos (even where you get on in Baltra) is a tender stop. This is not a sudden problem with one cabin, where the onboard engineer can fix it -- it is the basic design of the AC system on Xpedition which uses sea water as the cooling medium. There have been reports that the cabins on deck 6 have poor AC (they were added later and have a separate system -- so even the newest engineering on board has problems), and recently lots of complaints about deck 3 (which seems to get worse as you go forward -- 317 is the furthest forward cabin). This isn't an engineering problem that will be fixed in the next few weeks, or even in the September dry dock -- it is inherent in the design of Xpedition and will always crop up again under certain weather conditions (air temp vs sea water temp). If you are thinking about booking Xpedition [and I highly recommend it -- this is the cruise of a lifetime!], go for deck 4 -- the price is reasonable, the cabins have good AC and the low-number cabins even have wifi!

[Langley Cruisers]

This is the link to the thread that seems to be all things Xpedition related. It's part 3 of 3. When we booked the room 2 1/2 years ago I didn't find any issues with 317 in a search, but it certainly seems there are ongoing unresolved problems at this time. ...

 

Understood. Thank you for the reply.

[ljk76]

To follow up on what ECCruise just said, Xpedition is also unique in that it never docks. Every stop in the Galapagos (even where you get on in Baltra) is a tender stop. This is not a sudden problem with one cabin, where the onboard engineer can fix it -- it is the basic design of the AC system on Xpedition which uses sea water as the cooling medium. There have been reports that the cabins on deck 6 have poor AC (they were added later and have a separate system -- so even the newest engineering on board has problems), and recently lots of complaints about deck 3 (which seems to get worse as you go forward -- 317 is the furthest forward cabin). This isn't an engineering problem that will be fixed in the next few weeks, or even in the September dry dock -- it is inherent in the design of Xpedition and will always crop up again under certain weather conditions (air temp vs sea water temp). If you are thinking about booking Xpedition [and I highly recommend it -- this is the cruise of a lifetime!], go for deck 4 -- the price is reasonable, the cabins have good AC and the low-number cabins even have wifi!

 

Great advice for those who have yet to book...but advice I didn't have when we did an on board booking 2 1/2 years ago on the Summit. When we came home we did a cabin search and didn't find anything troubling.

 

What do cold sea temps do to the coolng system? I know August has the lowest air temps and sea temps. It's pretty depressing to think I'm using luggage space to perhaps pack a fan! This will be the most expensive trip we've taken thus far, even in the least expensive cabin it is not cheap, as you know. I'll call the Xpedition desk tomorrow but I doubt they'll have much to say...

[Snit13]

Host Jazz,

 

I knew you would have the answer. I can't remember what cabin we had but imagine it was on deck 3. We were so tired and ready for sleep after 2 expeditions and lots of walking on the rocks I doubt we would have noticed. Also all of the adult beverages with dinner would have had an influence too.

 

It is an experience of a lifetime and I am so happy we went. Not quite as awesome as safari in Kenya but better than our cruise on Infinity to Antarctica.

 

Wish we were in shape to go again. Had personal trainer for 6 months before we went so we were fit enough for all of the activity.

 

As someone said important to remember large brim hats that tie on, lots of sun screen and great walking shoes as those rocks can be a challenge.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

[geric26]

Jazz's concise summation and explanation of the problem was the best I have seen for a while - sorry it does not assist the OP though!:(

[MicCanberra]

Yes it gets warm in the Galapagos Islands, but there is nearly always a sea breeze and the heat of the day is around lunch time between excursions so you can just swim or be in the lounge. By early evening, it cools rather nicely and you may find no need for any A/C. Do not stress until you find you actually have an issue. Enjoy the Isles, they are fabulous.:D

Edited June 29, 2015 by MicCanberra