How compassionate are Celebrity?

[gnomeoffice]

Can anyone give me any advice on this situation? We are booked to go on the Equinox from this Saturday on a 10 day cruise in the Med. A few weeks ago my mother and 85 year old stepfather asked if they could come too. We had our reservations as his health is not good but they said it would be their last chance at a cruise and they were prepared to take a chance knowing they would not be able to get medical insurance. It is costing about £3000 with flights for them.

Sadly he has suddenly got ill and is now in hospital with breathing difficulties caused by an infection. My mum is in denial and still says there is a chance they may come but I cant see it myself and have pointed out to her if they do come and he ends up ill it could cost them a fortune.

I know Celebrity will not refund any of the cost this late in the day and its their own responsibility but do you think it is worth me approaching them at all to see if there is anything they are prepared to do, maybe defer it to a later date or even transfer their OBC to us? (we would obviously give them the money back!). Has anyone been in a similar situation? We are regular customers (Elite status) and I am hoping they may be able to do something but I kind of think I know the answer....that's the risk they took I guess but its a sad situation.

[jonsmum]

It might be worth contacting X. We were in a very similar situation last October, when I had breathing problems and wasn't allowed to fly. We cancelled literally days before departure. We got back extras that we had booked - bev packages, excursions etc and I think, but am not certain, port taxes etc. The rest was covered on our insurance so we actually weren't out of pocket at all. Give them a ring, you've got nothing to loose.

[CapeCodCruiser]

Sorry to hear of DSF.

 

It never hurts to ask - the worst they can say is no.

[wrk2cruise]

I wouldn't expect much but since you are Elite call via Captains Club. You are approaching it the right way, they don't owe you anything other than things which you pre-paid (grats, excursions, etc) and port fees. However they may be willing to move the reservation to a different sailing or give you some token.

 

I had a situation where my dad died 2 days before the cruise, so obviously we canceled and were covered by insurance. After the funeral we booked another cruse which departed in just a couple of weeks. i was able to get them to transfer the OBC from the onboard booking of the canceled cruise to the new cruise. It was labeled "goodwill" which it was.

[El Crucero]

We had a similar experience on another cruise line (not Celebrity) a few years ago. We were celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary and decided to take my parents with us on our dime (their 64th wedding anniversary). We booked a suite for them. Well my mother got sick a week before the cruise and was in the hospital. They understandably cancelled on us. We did not have insurance for them and we learned an expensive lesson! We asked the cruise line if we could occupy their suite or give us some other accommodation. They said absolutely not! They were sympathetic but said, that is what insurance is for.

Edited October 11, 2016 by El Crucero

[gnomeoffice]

thanks for your kind replies. I will have a go as I have nothing to lose as you all say. Now going away on Saturday feeling so guilty I am leaving my mum behind but he is stable so not much I can do to help here and I don't see our insurance paying out just so I can sit with her. Lesson is to make the most of life and get in these lovely cruises while you can!

[LA_CA_GAL]

We had a similar experience on another cruise line (not Celebrity) a few years ago. We were celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary and decided to take my parents with us on our dime (their 64th wedding anniversary). We booked a suite for them. Well my mother got sick a week before the cruise and was in the hospital. They understandably cancelled on us. We did not have insurance for them and we learned an expensive lesson! We asked the cruise line if we could occupy their suite or give us some other accommodation. They said absolutely not! They were sympathetic but said, that is what insurance is for.

 

If you paid for the accommodations, I cannot see why you could not get the suite.:confused:

[jimmybean]

Please let us know the outcome. I hope everyone is well, again, soon.

[El Crucero]

If you paid for the accommodations, I cannot see why you could not get the suite.:confused:

 

Yes, the suite was already paid in full, but they said no. They said the suite was booked to specific people and no substitutions are allowed. Again, they said that is what insurance is for, otherwise why would they sell insurance. As far as I know, the suite remained empty for the entire cruise. I did not fight them on it, life is too short.

 

To the OP, some insurance policies (the good ones) do cover cancellations upon the illness of immediate family members (elderly [parents). I would contact the insurance company.

 

Hope Pops is feeling better soon.

[johhnnyt]

Can anyone give me any advice on this situation? We are booked to go on the Equinox from this Saturday on a 10 day cruise in the Med. A few weeks ago my mother and 85 year old stepfather asked if they could come too. We had our reservations as his health is not good but they said it would be their last chance at a cruise and they were prepared to take a chance knowing they would not be able to get medical insurance. It is costing about £3000 with flights for them.

Sadly he has suddenly got ill and is now in hospital with breathing difficulties caused by an infection. My mum is in denial and still says there is a chance they may come but I cant see it myself and have pointed out to her if they do come and he ends up ill it could cost them a fortune.

I know Celebrity will not refund any of the cost this late in the day and its their own responsibility but do you think it is worth me approaching them at all to see if there is anything they are prepared to do, maybe defer it to a later date or even transfer their OBC to us? (we would obviously give them the money back!). Has anyone been in a similar situation? We are regular customers (Elite status) and I am hoping they may be able to do something but I kind of think I know the answer....that's the risk they took I guess but its a sad situation.

 

One thing you might try is put the same post on Celebrity Cruises official Facebook page. I've seen them reach out and help people that voice concerns like yours that are beyond the clients control and try and help even though as you stated there was no legal option to do so.

 

It generally gets noticed quicker by their social media team when its posted

[El Crucero]

El Crucero, that is a horrible story. Yes, I know rules are rules, but I wonder if the cruiseline couldn't have let you "upgrade" to that suite for a small amount. That way, they would have made a little more money and maybe would have had a better chance at selling your cabin. Plus, you would have been really impressed with their good will.

 

Needless to say, we will never cruise with that line again. They got their pound of flesh at the time but they have lost out to loyal customers who spend a lot of money on other cruise lines since then.

 

Celebrity has always treated us fairly, but we ALWAYS read the fine print and we are experienced cruisers now who know the pitfalls of taking chances - like when we almost got left at a foreign port when we took a private excursion and we got back late for departure! :eek:

[chemmo]

So sorry for your present situation.

 

Just thought it might be worth checking if your parents had paid by credit card and if it has any travel insurance included...may be just worth looking at the small print.

 

Hope you manage to enjoy your cruise after such a sad start...

[Bluemymind]

If you paid for the cruise with a credit card you may be able to get the credit card company to cover your lose. We had to cancel a cruise on Royal this past spring and lost 75% of our cruise fare and then learned the hard way. We have 2 credit cards that we use everyday one an American Express Costco branded at the time and a Chase United Presidential Plus card. The bad thing for us is I booked the cruise with the AMEX which had no travel benefits where as the Chase card would have refunded the cruise fare to us since it has travel protection included with the card. So now we only use the Chase card for all travel.

[gnomeoffice]

One thing you might try is put the same post on Celebrity Cruises official Facebook page. I've seen them reach out and help people that voice concerns like yours that are beyond the clients control and try and help even though as you stated there was no legal option to do so.

 

It generally gets noticed quicker by their social media team when its posted

 

Good idea, have done this and will also pursue the credit card route. Sincere thanks to all ( bar one deleted by the moderator!) who have given me such great advice and support. Robin is feeling a bit better but clearly not fit to travel and will be in hospital at least until the end of the week but thanks you all for your good wishes. At the end of the day money isn't what's important is it?!

[Orator]

So sorry for your situation and pray that all ends well for you and your family. I aways say that if you don't ask for something, you are saying no to yourself. It is not unreasonable for you to ask for some consideration. If you booked through a Travel Agent you should contact the TA. If you booked through Celebrity you should contact Celebrity.

All cruise lines do reserve the right to deny passage to potential passengers based on health conditions. You can just imagine the cost to the company when a health emergency happens. Preserving life is the most important consideration for Officers and they will spare no effort in gaining assistance as quickly as possible. I've been on cruises where a major diversion was necessary to reach a port with adequate medical facilities. People who have experienced health issues while at sea have been strong in their praise of Celebrity's response. Hopefully they will give careful consideration to the OP's situation.

[johhnnyt]

Can anyone give me any advice on this situation? We are booked to go on the Equinox from this Saturday on a 10 day cruise in the Med. A few weeks ago my mother and 85 year old stepfather asked if they could come too. We had our reservations as his health is not good but they said it would be their last chance at a cruise and they were prepared to take a chance knowing they would not be able to get medical insurance. It is costing about £3000 with flights for them.

Sadly he has suddenly got ill and is now in hospital with breathing difficulties caused by an infection. My mum is in denial and still says there is a chance they may come but I cant see it myself and have pointed out to her if they do come and he ends up ill it could cost them a fortune.

I know Celebrity will not refund any of the cost this late in the day and its their own responsibility but do you think it is worth me approaching them at all to see if there is anything they are prepared to do, maybe defer it to a later date or even transfer their OBC to us? (we would obviously give them the money back!). Has anyone been in a similar situation? We are regular customers (Elite status) and I am hoping they may be able to do something but I kind of think I know the answer....that's the risk they took I guess but its a sad situation.

 

I did forward a copy of your thread to a friend that's Director of Loyalty Marketing at Celebrity Cruises, and also emailed a copy to their social media team. Hopefully one or the other will be in contact with you

[DebbieMacG]

I did forward a copy of your thread to a friend that's Director of Loyalty Marketing at Celebrity Cruises, and also emailed a copy to their social media team. Hopefully one or the other will be in contact with you

 

That was a nice thing to do :)

[Gonzo70]

I did forward a copy of your thread to a friend that's Director of Loyalty Marketing at Celebrity Cruises, and also emailed a copy to their social media team. Hopefully one or the other will be in contact with you

 

Very nice of you to do that for the OP. :)

[DrivesLikeMario]

Your chances of getting your parents' non-refundable OBC transferred to you are pretty much zero. They'll refund any refundable OBC to their credit card.

 

I thought there was really good insurance that came with every cruise package in the UK? Doesn't that apply in this situation?

 

In this case, I would get your travel agent on the phone and have them plead your case. I did this once for some clients. I sent all kinds of medical documentation and wrote a letter. My clients received all of their money back in the form of a credit for a future cruise. It doesn't happen often though, so just be prepared and I know rules are different in the UK. I wish you all the luck and hope your SF recovers quickly. :)

[PoppyandNana]

Needless to say, we will never cruise with that line again. They got their pound of flesh at the time but they have lost out to loyal customers who spend a lot of money on other cruise lines since then.

 

Celebrity has always treated us fairly, but we ALWAYS read the fine print and we are experienced cruisers now who know the pitfalls of taking chances - like when we almost got left at a foreign port when we took a private excursion and we got back late for departure! :eek:

 

 

I don't understand your comment "we will never cruise with that line again". Why? They offered you a product with clearly understood terms and conditions which you accepted by booking passage. Now you are upset because those terms and conditions don't suit you?

 

When you take out a car loan there are very specific terms and conditions which you agree to in exchange for driving off the lot in a new car. If a three weeks later you lose your job or get into an accident and you let the insurance lapse would you expect the dealer to "cancel" the contract?

 

You are a big boy in a big boy world. Deal.

Edited October 12, 2016 by PoppyandNana

[Project_gal]

To the OP, some insurance policies (the good ones) do cover cancellations upon the illness of immediate family members (elderly [parents). I would contact the insurance company.

 

For most/all travel insurance policies in the UK you could opt to have cancelation insurance in such circumstance but you would be expected to make health declarations for the people you wanted cover for and, in the circumstances, the premium in the OP's circumstances would likely have been high.

 

This is conversation I have had to have with my 88-year old mother. Our travel insurance is now so expensive that it would become prohibitive if we have to cover for cancelation if anything happened to her. We have agreed what would happen in similar circumstances. However distasteful it may seem, it is always worth having an open discussion about what you would do if the "unforeseen" happens. It avoids further distress at already difficult times.

 

I hope that they OP is able to enjoy her cruise. It is probably much needed.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Project_gal

[Project_gal]

So sorry for your present situation.

 

Just thought it might be worth checking if your parents had paid by credit card and if it has any travel insurance included...may be just worth looking at the small print.

 

Hope you manage to enjoy your cruise after such a sad start...

 

The "free" travel insurances included with credit cards, bank accounts, etc. in the UK have become more and more restrictive over the years and it is unlikely that it would cover the OP's parents from what the OP has written. Still, worth checking, though.

[gnomeoffice]

I did forward a copy of your thread to a friend that's Director of Loyalty Marketing at Celebrity Cruises, and also emailed a copy to their social media team. Hopefully one or the other will be in contact with you

 

That is SO kind, thank you very much. Don't hold out much hope of anything to be honest and I completely understand that Celebrity is a business and these are the terms, so that's fair enough. As much as anything I want my mum to realize I have tried on her behalf. If nothing else it makes you realize there are a lot of very nice people out there!

[chemmo]

I don't suppose there is anyone who could take a lead role in visiting duties so your Mum could still cruise....Would she be willing to leave him for what is only a relatively few days if his present condition is stable? Caring is so tiring, both mentally and physically...

 

Just a thought...

Edited October 12, 2016 by chemmo

[2552phxcrzr]

We were in a not dissimilar situation earlier this year ... we knew they didn't owe us anything, but called anyway to see if they might allow the booking to be transferred to another sailing. Bottom line ... no can do was the answer. We did get the port taxes refunded to the credit card, that was unexpected and done automatically by X several weeks after the cruise.