booze mess up no refund

[edteach]

There are some islands that actually require delivery only (for rum) to the ships. Grand Caymen is a notable example. That being said, Rum Stop near the port hasn't messed up yet for me. (knock on wood)

 

Hope it all gets straight OP. I'm used to just picking up that cream rum at the port in Jamaica and walking it on board.

I did a complaint with BBB and they accepted the complaint. My brother said he has cruised with Celebrity for several trips and they always took very good care of any issues he had. He also had the wrong bottles delivered and has gone trough the same thing I am. If they were not so head up butt about it they take care of this with ease. I am a bit perplexed that such a small issue is being drug out so long. My brother booked a trip to the eastern Caribbean next Xmas and I was thinking of going. I will have to see how this plays out before I book.

[edteach]

I have called and emailed, left messages and now I am not even getting a reply or a blow off. Its amazing how Celebrity is so lax in customer service. :confused:

 

So far for 60 dollars worth of things we were offered 7 dollars by the shop that sold it. Then when we told them Celebrity took our merchandise they backed off. I am not saying I would not cruise with them again but I would never listen to their adds on where to shop or take seriously their recommendations. What if this was a 5k watch at one of the shops they recommended?

[gold1953]

I have called and emailed, left messages and now I am not even getting a reply or a blow off. Its amazing how Celebrity is so lax in customer service. :confused:

 

So far for 60 dollars worth of things we were offered 7 dollars by the shop that sold it. Then when we told them Celebrity took our merchandise they backed off. I am not saying I would not cruise with them again but I would never listen to their adds on where to shop or take seriously their recommendations. What if this was a 5k watch at one of the shops they recommended?

 

It seems all the blame is being placed on Celebrity.. what about the retailer .. what if they are the ones who are not telling the truth. What if an employee purposely sent the cheap rum and kept the cash hoping Celebrity would fix the issue. Too many unkowns to blame the cruise line totally. Yes Celebrity is suppose to fix the issue .. agreed but there may be fraud involved on the retailers part. Now they say they don't have any of your rum?? Not a store I will enter

[Lunna]

did you check your onboard account to see if there wasnt a OBC added on the last minute? that´s how usually they do when they need to refund something on the last night/minute

[edteach]

No it was not bought through the ship but from a vendor that the cruise line backed up. Well its been another couple of weeks and I received two emails from the better business bureau that said Celebrity had made restitution and we could with draw the complaint. I replied that Celebrity was lying and we had received nothing. I was then contacted by Celebrity direct and told that "the check was in the mail" That was over a week and a half ago. My brother who had the same exact thing happen to him as we both were on the same cruise and shopped at the same vendor Gem Palace in Ocho Rio bought his with a credit card. They told him they would take his credit card number and it would be credited back to his card. They called him yesterday two weeks later to tell him it was not the same number as was originally charged. To which he replied he only had one credit card and American Express. He is done with Celebrity and did a dispute charge back on his card. He also had a trip for two 7 days to to the eastern Caribbean that he is considering cancelling. His feeling is the same as mine, if you can not service what you promised on a 15 dollar bottle of rum cream then what if it was a 5k watch from one of the so called supported vendors or a 500 dollar Tanzanite or diamond?

[wallie5446]

Cancelling is probably the best option at this point. No sence putting himself thru more stress.

[Jade13]

No it was not bought through the ship but from a vendor that the cruise line backed up. Well its been another couple of weeks and I received two emails from the better business bureau that said Celebrity had made restitution and we could with draw the complaint. I replied that Celebrity was lying and we had received nothing. I was then contacted by Celebrity direct and told that "the check was in the mail" That was over a week and a half ago. My brother who had the same exact thing happen to him as we both were on the same cruise and shopped at the same vendor Gem Palace in Ocho Rio bought his with a credit card. They told him they would take his credit card number and it would be credited back to his card. They called him yesterday two weeks later to tell him it was not the same number as was originally charged. To which he replied he only had one credit card and American Express. He is done with Celebrity and did a dispute charge back on his card. He also had a trip for two 7 days to to the eastern Caribbean that he is considering cancelling. His feeling is the same as mine, if you can not service what you promised on a 15 dollar bottle of rum cream then what if it was a 5k watch from one of the so called supported vendors or a 500 dollar Tanzanite or diamond?

 

 

Will they give you a check number? Do you have the name of the employee on the ship that took your wrong bottle and said they would resolve this? I wonder if anyone has an email for the ship (even the concierge they could provide) so you could email the ship and tell them this has not been resolved.

 

You already know this but I always tell my DH to use a credit card so if something happens like this we can dispute the charge and request a charge back

[Iamcruzin]

It seems all the blame is being placed on Celebrity.. what about the retailer .. what if they are the ones who are not telling the truth. What if an employee purposely sent the cheap rum and kept the cash hoping Celebrity would fix the issue. Too many unkowns to blame the cruise line totally. Yes Celebrity is suppose to fix the issue .. agreed but there may be fraud involved on the retailers part. Now they say they don't have any of your rum?? Not a store I will enter

 

Bottom line if Celebrity is going to endorse retailers then they need to stand behind their satisfaction guarantee policy. These cruise lines all recruit new cruisers and encourage them to buy only at the cruise line recommended shops. They place fear in the new traveler promising that if anything should go wrong they will make good on the purchase. The retailer could be the one at fault but it's Celebrity's job to refund the money to the passenger and then recoup the loss from the retailer. That's the whole purpose of the purchase guarantee. It's been my experience that their are better deals, especially when it comes to liquor purchases at the non cruise line endorsed shops and you get to leave with your purchase.

[Iamcruzin]

I have called and emailed, left messages and now I am not even getting a reply or a blow off. Its amazing how Celebrity is so lax in customer service. :confused:

 

So far for 60 dollars worth of things we were offered 7 dollars by the shop that sold it. Then when we told them Celebrity took our merchandise they backed off. I am not saying I would not cruise with them again but I would never listen to their adds on where to shop or take seriously their recommendations. What if this was a 5k watch at one of the shops they recommended?

 

As a skeptical New Yorker. I don't recommend purchasing expensive jewelry or electronics in the Caribbean unless you have shopped around at home or online and know exactly what the going rate is. Gem stones are difficult to price because of how are are graded for quality. Watches can have the casing that say Rolex but the parts on the inside could be Timex. These products are referred to as Faux-lex on the streets of Manhattan. Also be aware of the pressure sales from the gems that are becoming extinct. Ammolite and Tanzanite mines have been drying up since my first cruise in 1986.. However, the home shopping network seems to have an endless supply. Be cautious if they are able to drop the price of the product in half. This is a sure sign that the price was inflated to begin with and the price they are offering is the price they wanted from the start. Also they know that you are only on the island for a few hours and they use this to pressure you to make a snap decision. I personally think that duty free is just smoke and mirrors that entice the consumers to make an uneducated, hasty purchase. The birth of online shopping as created a lot of competition for retailers who are now forced to become more competitively priced. I haven't seen anything on a cruise ship or island that I couldn't get at a on day sale at Macy's or online for less money. The only deals in the Caribbean are liquor (well not in your case) and tobacco products.

 

Off topic but just so you know there are no sharks in the water on port days. They are all working in the Jewelry stores.

Edited January 29, 2016 by Iamcruzin

[Nachosdelux]

The OP said it best - don't use cash.

Edited January 29, 2016 by Nachosdelux

[caladezi]

The only deals in the Caribbean are liquor

 

That doesn't even hold true any more. I can often get the same and sometime better prices at a store like Total Wine without all of the problems associated with buying booze on an island and bringing it home.

[Iamcruzin]

That doesn't even hold true any more. I can often get the same and sometime better prices at a store like Total Wine without all of the problems associated with buying booze on an island and bringing it home.

 

 

You're right. With the hassle of having to pack it in checked luggage if you fly home it isn't worth the few bucks you may save.

[ChucktownSteve]

That doesn't even hold true any more. I can often get the same and sometime better prices at a store like Total Wine without all of the problems associated with buying booze on an island and bringing it home.

 

Not necessarily true. Last time I was in St. Maarten I bought Johnny Walker Blue for $99/bottle instead of Costco at $185. I wound up buying a total of 13 ltrs. not just Blue however I did drive to the port. We sailed out of Baltimore.

 

I have another cruise there in three weeks and am driving to FLL port this time. So looking forward to saving 40% without tax.

 

BTW I was entitled to bring in 5 ltrs per person plus one if made locally and we visited a U.S. Virgin Island port. They don't charge duty on the extra bottle because the grief and duty returned aren't worth the effort/time. :cool:

[rmalbers]

The only thing that I think is surprising about this story is that any booze at all was delivered to the ship in the first place. That surprises the heck out of me, I mean in that port, I'm shocked they delivered something on a cash deal like this! I would bet, more times than not, your money would be gone with nothing to show for it, kind of like how it turned out I guess.

Edited January 30, 2016 by rmalbers

[ghstudio]

That doesn't even hold true any more. I can often get the same and sometime better prices at a store like Total Wine without all of the problems associated with buying booze on an island and bringing it home.

 

Can you buy a liter of Stoli Elit at home for $40? In florida, the best I can find, including total wine is $59 for 750ml.

[20pluscruises]

No it was not bought through the ship but from a vendor that the cruise line backed up. Well its been another couple of weeks and I received two emails from the better business bureau that said Celebrity had made restitution and we could with draw the complaint. I replied that Celebrity was lying and we had received nothing. I was then contacted by Celebrity direct and told that "the check was in the mail" That was over a week and a half ago. My brother who had the same exact thing happen to him as we both were on the same cruise and shopped at the same vendor Gem Palace in Ocho Rio bought his with a credit card. They told him they would take his credit card number and it would be credited back to his card. They called him yesterday two weeks later to tell him it was not the same number as was originally charged. To which he replied he only had one credit card and American Express. He is done with Celebrity and did a dispute charge back on his card. He also had a trip for two 7 days to to the eastern Caribbean that he is considering cancelling. His feeling is the same as mine, if you can not service what you promised on a 15 dollar bottle of rum cream then what if it was a 5k watch from one of the so called supported vendors or a 500 dollar Tanzanite or diamond?

 

Maybe call and see if there is a credit on your celebrity account towards a future cruise. Could be how they settled the complaint but forget to notify you. ????