June 19th 2016. Celebrity Eclipse NOT going where it is sold as going!

[FarmersWife2010]

So fed up . Had planned after much thought and the latest deal on Celebrity to as it were "jump ship" from Princess and try another line!

Really thrilled to do a Southampton to Southampton after lots of fly to ship cruises lately. Absolutely delighted with the itinerary, the cabin and the price.

The itinerary hit all our spots - Stockholm (friends) st Petersburg (bucket List) opportunity to go to Berlin (bucket list) Helsinki - friends, Tallin (kayaking) and a one day in Copenhagen (lunch with friends)

Cruise is still being sold like this too BUT when you log into "My Trip" on Celebrity the itinerary has changed - No Helsinki at all and an overnight long stay in Copenhagen (which for us is a waste).

 

Celebrity do admit they haven’t updated the itinerary THEY ARE STILL SELLING!!!!

 

If they can get it so wrong at this stage - really I don’t think we'll bother!!!

:mad::mad::mad:

[MarkusToe]

I assume it is the same improvement like the overnights in the carribien...

 

we do follow our customer wish .... :(

[VEK]

It has been showing like that for weeks, so they have had time to change it. I do accept that itinerary changes are sometimes necessary and unavoidable, but if

Celebrity have managed to update one of the three pages that shows the itinerary they should be able to change the others?

[upwarduk]

Was your original itinerary from a brochure?

It was announced in the early summer that there would be 2 overnight stays in St Petersburg, therefore missing Helsinki, which I personally like, but many found it a let down after St Petersburg.

I also agree that the long stay in Copenhagen was not for us, as we had been to the Tivioli Gardens in the past, but it had its compensation; I felt I wasn't rushing through the day, but we took our time and even went back out in the late afternoon to take more pictures of the Little Mermaid ( we had seen her in the morning from a canal boat)

The important thing about this cruise is the weather ( which you can't control)

Our first week was cold and wet, but the weather improved Aug 1st in St Petersburg, giving us a much better impression.

 

Here is the link to my review:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2245421

Edited September 8, 2015 by upwarduk

[shoreham01]

Quite honestly, Helsinki was our least favourite port on the Baltic Cruise. We were delighted to find another Baltic Cruise at a later date missing out on Helsinki. These days I think most of the Baltic cruises stay over night in Copenhagen.

[FarmersWife2010]

Quite honestly, Helsinki was our least favourite port on the Baltic Cruise. We were delighted to find another Baltic Cruise at a later date missing out on Helsinki. These days I think most of the Baltic cruises stay over night in Copenhagen.

 

I know its all personal choice and no we didnt pick from a brochure we chose online and its still showing on line - with the original plan as 2 days one night in St Petersburg, One day Helsinki and one Copenhagen - and actually that for us was perfect.

 

Their attitude certainly isnt perfect.

[Jade13]

Do any of the Celebrity Baltic cruises still go to Helsinki?

 

I would not be happy with that change.

[pjs678]

We're booked on the Silhouette on the same sailing date (June 19, 2016). It is scheduled to stop in Helsinki (with overnights in Stockholm & Copenhagen and 3 days/2 nights in SPb). I think most of the reviews tend to place Helsinki at the bottom of the list of the Baltic ports (just in terms of being more modern and less spectacular) so maybe X is listening to the feedback.

[Gordoncruickshank]

The UK web site has not been totally updated for even the overnight stays added to the Caribbean sailings. I would always check the Celebritycruises.com site.

[Fish Lover]

This cruise is certainly well enough in advance that if you don't care for the itinerary change, you can either ask for a refund or reschedule to another cruise date/itinerary.

 

For whatever reason, the cruise line can (and will) make changes as demanded by the weather, political conditions, port changes, and/or as demanded by passenger feedback.

I agree though that the website is poorly attended to. There is no proper internal process for communicating changes to the website, nor are there any processes in place to make sure that changes are in synch as necessary in all places of the website.

[eandj]

We chose Princess for this itinerary this summer. We found Helsinki to be fine. Interesting history made it a must see for us. But, we love Stockholm and Copenhagen and because of their size and ease to get around, would have loved more time in both of those.

 

My problem with X definitely would be how itineraries are changing after being advertised a different way. Definitely not a good plan for positive p.r.. This kind of change along with the BBB program is getting some bad raps. We want to cruise without the angst. Hope we can continue on X too.

Edited September 8, 2015 by eandj

[POA1]

I'm not sure what your consumer protection laws are, but in the US, we can usually print time stamped screens from a website showing that the offering doesn't match what's really being sold and get a full refund. In general, the cruise contract can't be out of sync with the displayed and stated offer.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I'm not sure what your consumer protection laws are, but in the US, we can usually print time stamped screens from a website showing that the offering doesn't match what's really being sold and get a full refund. In general, the cruise contract can't be out of sync with the displayed and stated offer.

 

OP is in the UK. They have different rules.

 

As for Helsinki, I loved Helsinki and would be very disappointed if that port were cancelled. Nothing against Copenhagen, but I've already spent a good amount of time there.

 

[POA1]

OP is in the UK. They have different rules.

 

That's exactly why I said, "I'm not sure what your consumer protection laws are...."

 

Apologies if I didn’t make that clear enough.

[Demonyte]

I'm not sure what your consumer protection laws are, but in the US, we can usually print time stamped screens from a website showing that the offering doesn't match what's really being sold and get a full refund. In general, the cruise contract can't be out of sync with the displayed and stated offer.

 

 

At least with Carnival (proved by their misfortunes with losing power etc) and NCL the cruise contract does not guarantee you any specific ports - the company can change the itinerary any way they like (even by not calling any ports) and still not breach the contract.

[Fish Lover]

I'm not sure what your consumer protection laws are, but in the US, we can usually print time stamped screens from a website showing that the offering doesn't match what's really being sold and get a full refund. In general, the cruise contract can't be out of sync with the displayed and stated offer.

 

The cruise contract does not guarantee the itinerary.

[kenevenpar]

The cruise contract does not guarantee the itinerary.

 

I think that the point is Celebrity continues to market a cruise that they know is not doing the itinerary being sold. At a minimum, it is "bad" will.

 

Disclosure: I am not a lawyer, I do not even play one on TV

Edited September 8, 2015 by kenevenpar

[rose6]

You are not the only one annoyed with Celebrity for modifying the stated itinerary after selling the cruise.

In May of this year while on the Eclipse we booked a transatlantic for 2016 based on the stated ports. About two or three weeks after returning home from our holiday I noticed that Malaga and another Spanish port had been eliminated and an extra sea day added along with another less desirable port in France.

 

It is one thing to modify an itinerary for safety reasons or weather conditions, and quite another to decide to change the ports without offering a reasonable explanation to those already booked. I believe that I have yet to be notified by Celebrity regarding the changes.

 

I am very likely to cancel this booking and am finding it difficult to decide on a substitute transatlantic as many of those that used to be 15 or 16 days are now offered at 13 days with fewer ports. One might be justified to wonder if this is really about the cruise line trying to save money by offering fewer ports.

[Cakeyandbeano]

The UK web site has not been totally updated for even the overnight stays added to the Caribbean sailings. I would always check the Celebritycruises.com site.

 

 

Helsinki is still on this website as well on June 25th so doesn't matter which one you check, looks like neither have been updated

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

That's exactly why I said, "I'm not sure what your consumer protection laws are...."

 

Apologies if I didn’t make that clear enough.

 

If someone in the US had purchased this cruise, the remedy would be simple: cancel the cruise and get the deposit back. No need for screen shots, etc. One can always cancel a cruise prior to final payment. No excuse necessary. But according to my understanding, people in the UK lose their deposit if they cancel a cruise.

 

[Texed]

Disclosure: I am not a lawyer, I do not even play one on TV

 

But, did you stay at Holiday Inn Express? :cool:

[biker1972]

So X has changed the itinerary and not updated their website. In X's world this seems to be standard unfortunately. But so far the cruise is taking place. Now when they do a charter and pull the cruise, but won't say anything for several weeks while they are getting the contract signed; that is really concerning. We speculate and worry endlessly, all to no avail. My thought is always, once I board, I am on a cruise and if it is 7 sea days, it is still a cruise and I will make the best of it. Much as I hope to make all the ports on the itinerary, I know that it might not happen. People book September cruises that might go south but sometimes go north to Canada. Do I care and get bent out of shape? No. I would like X to have website that is accurate, but I know they don't always and I try to adjust rather than getting angry about something I have no control over.

[upwarduk]

---- But according to my understanding, people in the UK lose their deposit if they cancel a cruise.

 

 

Recently when we had to cancel a TA on Reflection, we were told we could transfer the deposit to a new booking.

I think this is new for those of us in UK.

[henrybrookes]

So fed up . Had planned after much thought and the latest deal on Celebrity to as it were "jump ship" from Princess and try another line!

Really thrilled to do a Southampton to Southampton after lots of fly to ship cruises lately. Absolutely delighted with the itinerary, the cabin and the price.

The itinerary hit all our spots - Stockholm (friends) st Petersburg (bucket List) opportunity to go to Berlin (bucket list) Helsinki - friends, Tallin (kayaking) and a one day in Copenhagen (lunch with friends)

Cruise is still being sold like this too BUT when you log into "My Trip" on Celebrity the itinerary has changed - No Helsinki at all and an overnight long stay in Copenhagen (which for us is a waste).

 

Celebrity do admit they haven’t updated the itinerary THEY ARE STILL SELLING!!!!

 

If they can get it so wrong at this stage - really I don’t think we'll bother!!!

:mad::mad::mad:

 

We were on the Eclipse 31/5/15 with overnight stay in Copenhagen. Very disappointed docked nowwhere near anything had to get shuttle buses or fight for hop on hop off buses very disappointed.

[Redtravel]

Cruise lines often change ports for a variety of reasons. I like Helsinki. I also like Copenhagen. I have been to Copenhagen twice. I recently booked a cruise on another line that will also be doing an overnight stay in Copenhagen. Copenhagen at night is a treat. Head for Tivoli Gardens in the heart of the city. There is lots of great entertainment and excellent restaurants. Buy the Copenhagen card at the dock. It includes transportation and entry to lots of places. It will save you lots of money. Copenhagen is a very expensive city.

I would rather see the cruise line skip Russian ports. I have been to St. Petersburg. It is an interesting port. However, due to political unrest, I will not book a cruise that includes a stop in Russia. Some of the cruise lines have altered their Baltic cruises to avoid docking in Russia. I am booked on one that skips Russia for July 2016....not on Celebrity.