Celebrity Cruisers Beware!

[chancey61]

How far in advance does Celebrity come out with their new itineraries? 18 months?

Before publishing them' date=' why can't they negotiate the charters? That would make a lot more sense.[/quote']

 

Yes exactly. We (ourselves and another couple) had the 2017 booked and then booked the 2018 when it came out. Both times the selection of replacement cruises did not work for us( ports and time off work) No other cruise visits some of the ports the cancelled one does. However the thing that ticked me off the most was that when we started hearing rumblings about the cruises being cancelled (on cruise critic) BOTH times we called celebrity to verify if this was true and were told MORE than once that it was not. We do have cruises booked for 2017 and 2018 with celebrity and did get some onboard credit. I am over it now but at the time was hot!!

[GottaKnowWhen]

This review is to warn anyone who is contemplating cruising with Celebrity Cruise Line. On August 4 my husband and I were notified that our 2018 cruise from San Juan, Puerto Rico had been cancelled. ... Which means, Celebrity Cruise has no loyalty to its booked customers. All that matters to Celebrity is the almighty dollar!...

 

Wow! They only gave you an 18 month warning! :rolleyes:

[GottaKnowWhen]

I also tend to agree with the OP. I am well aware that cruise lines do this sort of thing. I am also aware that many people from the colder climates ( like myself)' date=' generally cruise from Jan to Mar and the Southern Caribbean is a favourite itinerary.

 

Both 2017 and 2018 seasons have no available cruises left for their valuable and loyal customers.

 

We went with a western itinerary this coming year but will look elsewhere until they need the little man's money again.[/quote']

 

I know this thread has been going awhile but I just started skimming through it and am quite amused by hyperbolic comments like this one. "No cruises left..."? Really? Yesterday I booked a 14-night Southern Caribbean cruise for January 2017 ...

[GottaKnowWhen]

Kitty9 related the number of charters and partial charters for X and RCCL. How does one learn if a particular cruise is a partial charter?

 

I would be interested to find more about such sources as well. Just speculating, but for the historical data, you might find that in the companies annual reports?

[awhcruiser]

I also agree to the over the top reaction. Ship happens!

[debshomespun]

No itineraries left for their loyal customers? WHAT?? There are plenty of cruises left that are great itineraries for cruisers. When the itinerary comes out, many companies don't know they want to charter a ship. For Celebrity, this is good business. They get the money for the whole ship being chartered out. Certainly there is another cruise you can transfer your deposit to, and you would also be receiving some extra OBC for your hassle.

 

Celebrity, you can charter any of my cruises, and give me additional OBC. I'm sure we will be able to find another cruise to replace mine if it should get chartered out! :D

[ckfred]

Not that I condone what Celebrity and RC do with charters, but remember that the parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises, does have to answer to shareholders. I did some research, and a number of funds from the likes of Vanguard and T. Rowe Price, among others, each own in excess of 1% of the outstanding stock.

 

I know that at one time, the Pritzker family (Hyatt Hotels) owned a large number of shares of RCC, but I can't find any family members listed, unless they are using some sort of investment fund for holding purposes.

 

Needless to say, those fund managers expect management to maximize revenue and profits. So, if RCC finds that a ship can make more money as a charter, rather than selling each cabin through the usual distribution channels, the inclination will be to do so.

[villauk]

 

Celebrity, you can charter any of my cruises, and give me additional OBC. I'm sure we will be able to find another cruise to replace mine if it should get chartered out! :D

 

You obviously do not have to request your annual leave for the following year from your employers? Some of us are also fixed to particular weeks and are unable to change once the days have been approved. If you are retired, great, it's not such a hardship, but remembers that others are fixed to certain dates and are unable to change on a whim ;).

 

The only thing that matters to companies is the bottom line - after all, they are a business and out to make a profit for their shareholders.

[deliver42]

I had no problem today to book an 11 night Southern Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale.

[Sandtrap328]

This review is to warn anyone who is contemplating cruising with Celebrity Cruise Line. On August 4 my husband and I were notified that our 2018 cruise from San Juan, Puerto Rico had been cancelled. Please keep in mind that we have had this reservation since late March 2016. We had tried to take this exact trip slated for January 2017 but were told the cruise had been cancelled. So after being told it was in for repair, we proceeded to book the 2018 cruise date.

 

Now this exact cruise, for the second time, has been cancelled. Upon further investigation I have uncovered that Celebrity Cruise has thrown everyone that booked on this cruise off so they could sell the complete booking to a company not only for the 2018 date but also the 2017 sailing. Which means, Celebrity Cruise has no loyalty to its booked customers. All that matters to Celebrity is the almighty dollar!

 

We have cruised for over 20 years with different cruise lines and never once has a cruise line kicked us off a booked and deposit paid cruise. This little game of booking a listed cruise until something better comes along is totally wrong. They have disrupted many planned vacations without so much as a truthful explanation of why. I assume it is easier to say the cruise was cancelled instead of we don’t care that we have spoiled your planned vacation for a better offer from someone else. They offered to rebook us on the December sailing of this itinerary but we would be flying home the day before Christmas plus we would have to pay an additional amount due to an increase in the fare. Since we are senior travelers, with more years behind us than in front, being with family is very important to us which made this not an option.

 

We, and I assume many other passengers, are left to get their refunds from whatever source they used to pay for this trip. Thank goodness we did not make airline or hotel reservations. We did, however, purchase travel insurance and were told we could not receive a refund due to the time cancellation policy even though it was not our fault that the cruise was cancelled by Celebrity. After many phone conversations and endless time with several representatives, we were able to receive an exception and were granted the full refund of our purchase of travel insurance. This inconvenience is one more factor that Celebrity Cruise caused with this unwarranted cruise cancellation.

 

Celebrity Cruise should be ashamed of itself for listing a cruise and not living up to its responsibility of providing the service they so proudly tout. This disrupting a cruise of so many customers because they received a better offer should be a warning to anyone who sails with them. Your planned trip could be next! Celebrity Cruise is not looking out for anyone but themselves and will “throw anyone overboard” that may already have a paid reservation. Traveler Beware, Celebrity Cruise Line newsletters usually have a “Thank You for Your Loyally” remark in them, but experiencing their “thank you” first hand, we know that Celebrity Cruise Line and its’ executives have only one agenda, the bottom line, not the consumer.:mad:

 

Well, these things happen. You did not mention if you had used Celebrity before or not.

 

You only had a deposit and travel insurance to deal with. You could not make airline reservations this far in advance.

 

In travel, as you should have learned by now, you have to be flexible. If you cannot roll with the punches a little bit, maybe consider staying home.

[wallie5446]

This review is to warn anyone who is contemplating cruising with Celebrity Cruise Line.

:

 

From a new member to Cruise Critic. Sorry about your cruise. We have sailed on 7 different lines since 1987. Still waiting for the fine print in our cruise contract to be envoked.

[Fish Lover]

So let me see if I have this right. You want absolute loyalty from Celebrity because you book a cruise with them 18 months from now.

 

Hmmm.. then you should probably extend the same loyalty to them and full-pay for your cruise when you book it. Non-refundable.

 

But I bet no one wants to do that.

[VPKara]

The moral to the story......In every life a little rain must fall.

 

Cheers!

 

Unless you are in California. :(

 

Now that is funny, but sadly true!

[Canadianhey!]

2 4 the Road appears to be 1 and Done. They've had a little time and some feedback and I wonder what they are thinking.

 

I can totally understand why the OP is not commenting back, this thread is getting nasty.

 

OP I can totally understand your frustration and I am sorry that you are getting many negative comments. Sometimes you just want to vent and apparently here is not the place to do it. I apologize.

[OBX-Cruisers]

We had a cruise on the Celebrity Millenium cancelled a few years ago that had a wonderful West coast multiple stop itinerary most cruisers dream about. THEY broke an azipod just to make us sad that we could not go on our cruise since that was the only ship scheduled for that itinerary.

Well, joking aside, since we had booked our own airfare to Vancouver, we decided to just go on a land tour of Western Canada instead. Rental car was $200 for the entire week and Canadians more plentiful than on Celebrity on a winter cruise to the Caribbean (smile), THAT was the BEST vacation we have had in many many years. Taking the week slow and easy turned out to be just as good or better than a cruise.

I have always wanted to see Banff, Lake Louise, the Icefields Parkway and Jasper..............WE DID.........WONDERFUL. Then one night in Whistler at the end of the trip topped off a really great trip.

Classic Lemons into Lemonade and the result was terrific.

Edited September 26, 2016 by OBX-Cruisers

[rockdoctor]

Read your Cruise Contract.

[Cuizer2]

I know this thread has been going awhile but I just started skimming through it and am quite amused by hyperbolic comments like this one. "No cruises left..."? Really? Yesterday I booked a 14-night Southern Caribbean cruise for January 2017 ...

 

That is why there are no cruises left. You took the last one. :(