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Costa Smeralda delivery delayed.


G.M.T.
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The Costa Smeralda deilvery has been delayed for four weeks, she is not ready.

 

First cruise now scheduled for 21st: December from Savona.

 

Thats 3 cruises that will be cancelled, with over 18000 "happy" non-cruises.

 

What a wonderful Christmas Present from Costa.🙈💣💥

 

https://www.schiffe-und-kreuzfahrten.de/news/costa-smeralda-weitere-reiseabsagen-erste-kreuzfahrt-nun-am-21-12-2019-ab-savona/190800/

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3 hours ago, G.M.T. said:

The Costa Smeralda deilvery has been delayed for four weeks, she is not ready.

 

First cruise now scheduled for 21st: December from Savona.

 

Thats 3 cruises that will be cancelled, with over 18000 "happy" non-cruises.

 

What a wonderful Christmas Present from Costa.🙈💣💥

 

https://www.schiffe-und-kreuzfahrten.de/news/costa-smeralda-weitere-reiseabsagen-erste-kreuzfahrt-nun-am-21-12-2019-ab-savona/190800/

My thoughts are tat Costa tried everything to launch this ship On time and it is obvious that it was beyond their control. I am sure Costa does not want to disappoint passengers  booked on this ship, especially during the holidays. They also don’t want to lose the revenue that 3 cruises would of generated. 

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I thought of possibly reserving a cruise in January 2020, and maybe booking plane tickets.
Should i proceed? I mean i know they will reimburst me for the cruise if the ship is delayed, but airplane tickets are a problem.

Poslano sa mog RNE-L21 koristeći Tapatalk

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We got caught up this postponement.  Called Costa today, and initiated a refund for the cruise.  They said it will take 7-10 days to process.  

 

Their email said they will work with you on transportation... if you have receipts.  I will be re-using most of my transportation, and was able to cancel a train trip.  Leaves me with one train trip I could not cancel.  Costa said that normally they would not refund something like that.. "when the customer cancels".  Say what?!?  Um, YOU cancelled the cruise.  I am just asking for my money back!

 

These transportation refund requests need to go through email (not via a live person), so sounds a bit iffy to me.

 

Anyone from the earlier postponement have to deal with this for transportation?  FYI, we booked ourselves, so no TA.

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Is this the second time that Costa have had to make cancellations to Smeralda cruises, please?
As mentioned above, I feel sure this is beyond the control of Costa.

We are booked for a cruise on Smeralda mid January so hanging back for the moment re. Making any extra travel /accommodation reservations we’ll require.......

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I personally would not book a cruise on a new ship for at least 3 to 4 months after delivery / christening, why:

 

- the Smeralda has the new LNG power units, still very new Aida NOVA has problems

- not everything will have been found during the sea trials

- work could still being carried out around passengers

- new crew have to molded into a happy team

 

I also do not book the first 3 cruises after a drydock refurbishment, same reasons as above.

 

Also

 I do not book the last 3 cruises if a ship has been sold, things are run down and not everything (food, drinks etc.) is available.

 

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I don't think a new crew matters that much. They are all experienced and every contract they end up on a different ship with different crew. Some crew have already been in Finland a couple months getting the ship right. A big bunch start next week. Its not exactly the same as a normal ship in that these crew are in a hotel for the time being and only working days. But in a month that changes and they are all staying on the ship.

The itinerary starts very easy and not sea day intensive. Its also repetitive. Any technical difficulties they would be able to either make up time or just skip a port.

Still with the histories of delays I wouldn't book until mid January. But being on the first cruise is usually a bit more special than other voyages. So I can see an attraction in trying to be on the maiden voyage.

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  • 1 month later...

I was booked on the Nov 30 cruise which was cancelled with only one month's notice. My travelling party were 5 family members and it took a huge amount of planning to book this cruise. With such short notice it was impossible to find an alternate cruise during the same dates so we ended up cancelling our vacation all together which was a huge disappointment. 

 

I'm wondering what people's opinions are on the compensation that was offered by Costa; 30% cruise credit on an alternate cruise until May 2020. Personally I find this to be very cheap and embarrassing on Costa's part. I will not be able to make use of this credit given the extremely short time frame. How are 5 adults with jobs and busy lives supposed to reschedule a vacation within such a short time. A cruise getting cancelled one month prior to sailing is an extremely rare event, almost unheard of. For example the delay for the Carnival Mardi Gras was just announced, but with more than 8 month's notice. Surely if a ship isn't ready to sail it is evident more than one month before the first cruise. Given these factors I find the compensation offered is absolutely ridiculous and useless.

 

I have been trying to contact Costa's customer service since Oct 29 2019 with no success. I have a problem with my refund that I need them to address and I also want to voice my displeasure with how they have handled this situation. Their call centre says they are not authorized to deal with the situation (huh??). I have not received any response to emails, messages to their facebook inbox, and phone calls. It has been almost two months and I am getting nowhere. They are also not responding to my travel agent's inquires to them.

 

I have to say that I have never experienced such horrible service from any company in my lifetime. They are simply trying to avoid answering any inquires about this. I am a past passenger with Costa and this is how they treat their customers. I am trying to keep my composure but I am exasperated and at my wits end trying to deal with Costa. I just want all my money back and to never cruise with them again. They should truly be embarrassed and ashamed at the way they run their business.

 

Is anyone else out there in the same boat?  

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