Celebrity's Handling of their Millennium Sailing is SHAMEFUL!

[emmas gran]

8 hours ago, jelayne said:

What are you basing this statement that all FCCs have the same timeframes?  I have cruises booked with a non-refundable deposit and if I cancel or change the ship or sail date the  I would receive a FCC for the deposit (less $100 pp). That FCC has to be used within 1 year.  So maybe there are different FCCs.

 

Thanks for clarifying what I knew but wasn't going to argue with the poster

[phoenix_dream]

On 2/3/2020 at 4:39 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Well then how do they get away with calling it CFAR insurance?  That really stinks.

First of all, most CFAR policies do in fact cover epidemics.

 

That said, there are reasons that insurance companies include exceptions on all policies and it's not just because of greed as many will think.  Policy prices are determined by a complicated actuarial calculation based on many things including past occurrences, expected risk factor, expected $$ per claim and on and on.  Certain types of occurrences such as epidemics/pandemics and terrorist attacks happen so rarely (thankfully!!) that it is virtually impossible to calculate an accurate rate.  Without that accurate rate, pricing is a crap shoot.  If the worst happened and the pricing were not reasonably accurate, the insurance company would go out of business trying to cover the claims.  That would benefit no one.  That is why even when they do offer the coverage it is not at 100%.  

 

For any policy, it is critical to always read the fine print.  Every contract has exceptions and insurance is no different.  No one should ever sign ANY contract without understanding it!

 

Full disclosure - I worked for 30 years in insurance, but trust me I am no cheerleader for them.  Got laid off from a major company after 25 years, at the age of 58, during the worst recession since the Great Depression.  But facts are facts.

[terrydtx]

15 hours ago, Pushka said:

 

 

[terrydtx]

It looks like things are getting worse, the Diamond Princess has 10 confirmed cases of the virus and the ship is now under quarantine for 14 days in Japan with 3700 people on board. This alone is enough of a reason to cancel any Asia cruise for now. I bet this is not the only cruise ship in the region that will be under quarantine. Lets hope X does the right thing with refunds for canceled or altered cruise departure Ports.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/10-people-aboard-cruise-ship-japan-test-positive/story?id=68769789

Edited February 5, 2020 by terrydtx

[phoenix_dream]

6 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

It looks like things are getting worse, the Diamond Princess has 10 confirmed cases of the virus and the ship is now under quarantine for 14 days in Japan with 3700 people on board. This alone is enough of a reason to cancel any Asia cruise for now. I bet this is not the only cruise ship in the region that will be under quarantine.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/10-people-aboard-cruise-ship-japan-test-positive/story?id=68769789

Reading this, one of the scariest parts to me is the confinement to the cabin.  UGH!!  Can you imagine having an inside cabin and being stuck in there?!?!  I avoid those already for many reasons, among them the thought of being confined even 3 days for nororvirus.  I can't even imagine being confined to my usual balcony for that long and not being able to go out.

 

And another important point people need to take from that article is the prescription medication issue.  One should ALWAYS take extra life supporting/saving medication, but these days I think anyone sailing should consider taking ALOT more just in case of something like this.  How scary!

[Bo1953]

6 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

It looks like things are getting worse, the Diamond Princess has 10 confirmed cases of the virus and the ship is now under quarantine for 14 days in Japan with 3700 people on board. This alone is enough of a reason to cancel any Asia cruise for now. I bet this is not the only cruise ship in the region that will be under quarantine.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/10-people-aboard-cruise-ship-japan-test-positive/story?id=68769789

You are correct, I Am sure there will be other ships in the same predicament.

 

I Am not sure it is enough for me to cancel.

 

I do understand and accept that it is enough for others to do or have done so, without question.

 

Lazy, relaxing days... all I would need is internet (to work), food, calm seas and continued great service..

 

I wonder if those who had beverage packages would have to re-up for the time frame still aboard? That would be a bummer if so..

 

I would bet that Formal Nights would be very casual, soon...

 

My spouse would definitely jump overboard after day five (5) and swim to land... LOL

 

bon voyage

[kearney]

Alas I believe that passengers are confined to their cabins now that 10 have come down with the virus. Another reason for booking a veranda cabin. It is going to be a long quarantine. I wonder if they have to restart the clock with every new diagnosis? Not sure how this works

16 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

You are correct, I Am sure there will be other ships in the same predicament.

 

I Am not sure it is enough for me to cancel.

 

I do understand and accept that it is enough for others to do or have done so, without question.

 

Lazy, relaxing days... all I would need is internet (to work), food, calm seas and continued great service..

 

I wonder if those who had beverage packages would have to re-up for the time frame still aboard? That would be a bummer if so..

 

I would bet that Formal Nights would be very casual, soon...

 

My spouse would definitely jump overboard after day five (5) and swim to land... LOL

 

bon voyage

 

[terrydtx]

23 minutes ago, kearney said:

Alas I believe that passengers are confined to their cabins now that 10 have come down with the virus. Another reason for booking a veranda cabin. It is going to be a long quarantine. I wonder if they have to restart the clock with every new diagnosis? Not sure how this works

Princess has already canceled the next two Diamond Princess cruises, so it looks like they are expecting the worse for this ship, quarantine wise. For those with adequate travel insurance they should be OK as long as it includes things like airfare, private tours and hotels that are already bought and paid for. For those unlucky souls currently on the Diamond Princess without adequate insurance getting home on already sold out flights could be a financial and logistical nightmare. This could also be a financial nightmare for the insurance carriers having to cover potentially tens of thousands of passengers. No matter how  see this crisis there will be no winners in the long run.

[terrydtx]

48 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

I wonder if those who had beverage packages would have to re-up for the time frame still aboard? That would be a bummer if so..

 

I would bet that Formal Nights would be very casual, soon...

For the unlucky souls on that ship, I think these are the least of their worries.

[Globehoppers]

On 2/3/2020 at 5:55 PM, jimzgoldfinch said:

This is latest on the cruise referred to by OP 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/ML-3-14-20-Itinerary-Modification-Guest-Letter.pdf

 

Very similar to what Azamara did several years ago when security concerns required changing embarkation ports from Istanbul to Piraeus.  RCCL owns both Azamara and Celebrity.

[terrydtx]

12 minutes ago, Globehoppers said:

https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/ML-3-14-20-Itinerary-Modification-Guest-Letter.pdf

Very similar to what Azamara did several years ago when security concerns required changing embarkation ports from Istanbul to Piraeus.  RCCL owns both Azamara and Celebrity.

I am not sure $500 would cover the airfare changes from Hong Kong to Tokyo for departure. A last minute change like this could cost a fortune if there are even seats available for over 2000 passengers.

Edited February 5, 2020 by terrydtx

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, kearney said:

Alas I believe that passengers are confined to their cabins now that 10 have come down with the virus. Another reason for booking a veranda cabin. It is going to be a long quarantine. I wonder if they have to restart the clock with every new diagnosis? Not sure how this works

 

k - I did not take that into consideration!

 

I wonder if one is confined if they show symptoms or everyone is under quarantine? Hmmm, room service.

 

Yes, inside cabins would be mind blowing in a situation like this for sure.

 

I have thought about living on a cruise liner and this would go a long way to let me know if I can do it... LOL

 

Thank you and bon voyage

[Globehoppers]

25 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Princess has already canceled the next two Diamond Princess cruises, so it looks like they are expecting the worse for this ship, quarantine wise. For those with adequate travel insurance they should be OK as long as it includes things like airfare, private tours and hotels that are already bought and paid for. For those unlucky souls currently on the Diamond Princess without adequate insurance getting home on already sold out flights could be a financial and logistical nightmare. This could also be a financial nightmare for the insurance carriers having to cover potentially tens of thousands of passengers. No matter how  see this crisis there will be no winners in the long run.

 

Additionally, it requires a concerted effort to "sanitize" the ship then have it clear the country's health screenings before embarking new passengers.

 

I am amazed, even though I shouldn't be, over all the crying and ranting, and also the unsolicited "advice," from posters.  This is a WHO world health issue for which there is no vaccine or antidote yet.  Adults should realize that "stuff happens," even for the most detailed and expensive activities.  Nothing is perfect.  Its best to deal with those things you can change end not whine over those you can't.  (Someone smart said that once).  This epidemic is not the fault of X, not the fault of the airlines, not even the fault of China although there are some serious critiques of how China failed to respond quickly to the outbreak.  Israeli media is even suggesting that the outbreak involves biowarfare agents since Wuhan is the center of Chinese biologic research.  

 

Its always best to deal with the facts and make plans accordingly, whatever the cause of the problem.

[Bo1953]

33 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

For the unlucky souls on that ship, I think these are the least of their worries.

Yes, you are most likely correct, yet I trust not all of them would consider themselves unlucky...

 

Especially if they were not confined to the cabin. Those in suites will be happy for this to a great degree, if this is the case...

 

bon voyage

[yorky]

7 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Reading this, one of the scariest parts to me is the confinement to the cabin.  UGH!!  Can you imagine having an inside cabin and being stuck in there?!?!  I avoid those already for many reasons, among them the thought of being confined even 3 days for nororvirus.  I can't even imagine being confined to my usual balcony for that long and not being able to go out.

 

And another important point people need to take from that article is the prescription medication issue.  One should ALWAYS take extra life supporting/saving medication, but these days I think anyone sailing should consider taking ALOT more just in case of something like this.  How scary!

I had an inside cabin and Norovirus on the Sea Princess many years ago, spent some of it watching the ships view of the islands in the Caribbean on the TV.

[Pushka]

The thing is now, there is always some kind of nasty cruise kennel cough as I call it, on a cruise ship. I’ve had it twice. High temp, hacking cough caught from other cruisers as they always happen mid cruise after a week or so. Now immediately this happens amongst 3000 passengers (even on the first day) the suspicion will be that its Corona and the whole ship goes into lockdown and refusal of entry to a port. Hell, the cruise before you might not be able to berth and so no one can get off and then we can’t board! THAT is what worries me. Either being stuck on a ship after for 14 days or maybe worse just being stuck at sea for the whole cruise and not being allowed to get into ports or really, do anything! A cruise from hell. 
 

And how many here could afford an extra 14 days at sea if they have to go back to work, let alone find a flight and pay for it to get back home again. 
 

I trust those who said we should not be posting about another cruise line and their corona issues just less than a week ago are rethinking what they posted back then. 

Edited February 5, 2020 by Pushka

[LUAUBOUND]

I’m happy to tell you that Viking has done the right thing! They e cancelled our China trip for April 9th and are refunding our entire payment.

Well done, Viking!

[hcat]

Hope it runs that way on all lines....and airlines.

Keep folks safe, ships  clean, and customers  happy to be off the hook

[terrydtx]

The WHO announced today that the Princess ship quarantined in Japan has now 20 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus, up from 10 yesterday. There is a possibility the ship may no be in quarantine for more than the original 14 days. Also all passengers are required to stay in their cabins. I am glad I am not on that nightmare  of a cruise.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Also all passengers are required to stay in their cabins.

According to this post by @Bo1953 in another thread, the BBC reports that those in inside cabins are permitted to spend 90 minutes outside daily under medical supervision, which is consistent with some of the video footage I've seen.

 

 

[terrydtx]

10 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

According to this post by @Bo1953 in another thread, the BBC reports that those in inside cabins are permitted to spend 90 minutes outside daily under medical supervision, which is consistent with some of the video footage I've seen.

 

 

90 minutes a day free is still 22 hours of confinement 

[kwokpot]

The Philippines and Taiwan has closed their ports to all Ships.

[Pushka]

32 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

90 minutes a day free is still 22 hours of confinement 

I have seen pictures of an inside cabin where a family with 2 teenagers are holed up in four bunk beds. Linens aren’t being changed. Towels not being replaced. People have to clean their own cabins but haven’t been provided with cleaning materials. Food is ok but nowhere near usual fare. No alcohol. No smoking anywhere. No exercise except in the cabin. No knowledge when it will be over. My idea of hell. 
 

The info is obtained from the UK person doing daily video updates. Yet he says that Princess is going above and beyond. What an inspirational person he is. 

Edited February 6, 2020 by Pushka

[BelloMundo]

On 1/31/2020 at 2:15 PM, BelloMundo said:

SHAME FULL! March 14, 2020 Sailing on Celebrity Millennium. We were very much looking forward to taking this cruise of a lifetime, but not under the circumstance caused by the current health crisis, the Corona Virus.   Spoke to TA, Then Celebrity's One Touch Customer Service, on to Resolutions, no help. Celebrity REFUSES to make any changes, offer any options or edit any current adjustments to current itineraries to Point Zero China ports. Or simply waits until the last possible minute.   They just want to steal our hard earned money or force us to voluntarily go into a life threatening situation.   https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2020/01/articles/disease/coronavirus-celebrity-holland-america-line-and-seabourn-cruises-refuse-to-cancel-or-refund-cruises-to-china/   Celebrity pushes forward and refuses to give options to passengers booked on cruises docking in CONTAMINATED  China ports, putting all passengers in danger, taking our money without the benefit of the planned vacation and not being able to visit the promised ports.   Celebrity stance, of not providing custumers twit timely options, shows the lack of respect for our valuable vacation time and exposing us to Asia ports, considering the fluidity and fast moving spread of virus, Celebrity does not value their passengers safety.   We will not cruise Celebrity again. I may loose my $$$, but I will NEVER sail Celebrity again unless they make the right decision.   We offered to swap cruises for safer ports and were flatly refused.   Celebrity notified their February 1, 2020 cruise passengers yesterday, when many had already flown out, with a number of passengers connecting through Hong Kong being denied boarding in Singapore, due to last minute measures put in place at that port.   This is a health emergency!!! Shame Celebrity!

 

I’ve stayed away from this topic because I have better things to do. After reading the posts, I’m so sad to read SO much misinformation, assumptions as to our motives and plain wrong information. Thank you to those that even partially saw part of our point. To the trolls, naysayers and attackers calling my posts “rants”, I say “I told you so”, too bad some who are all knowing , have all the answers, ridiculed my post and made this a personal attack. We are all here to plan a wonderful trip, some let by their blind loyalty to Celebrity let them ignore their fails. I do hope everyone comes back healthy from these sailings.

 

A little background, I’ve traveled, flown and cruised for over 40 years, for both pleasure and work, making all our own arrangements.

 

Years ago I worked as a part time travel agent concentrating on cruising, mostly for the discount. I’ve cruised on nearly a dozen cruise lines, more than once, on several and have mid to high status, I don’t see the need to list then on my signature.

 

I’ve worked in the health industry, for over 40 years, and had ample experience with all kinds of medical claims including international and travel insurance claims.

 

Unless you have a condition/accident that may necessitate being medivacked, travel insurance is a crock. First, the passenger is required to pay for most services in advance and then file a claim with the travel insurance company, then hope to be covered, AND at the Insurance companies’ payment schedule, be prepared to have “valid” documentation for every expense. I’ve had to deliver the news of non-coverage, many a time. So if you invest in CFAR travel insurance, be sure to read the fine print. Working in the industry, insurance companies are in the business of taking money in, not paying it out, most, including CFAR, do not cover, epidemics, riots nor wars. Do your homework. No, we did not buy travel insurance, we’ve taken dozens of cruises and this is the first time we encountered this type of mess. ALL my travel expenses were cancellable or refunded, and I DO my homework, except for Celebrity, who continues to hold our fare hostage in spite of an impossible situation and we cannot make alternate plans.

 

No, the epidemic is not Celebrity’s fault, they just failed to do right by their passengers, especially with the available advance data and daily escalation of the crisis. They are trying to salvage their loss, period at the expense of their guests. Passengers are on pins and needles waiting for Celebrity’s decision regarding our travel plans and ultimately our safety. Loss of vacation, denied disembarkation at planned ports of call with pre-booked tours, additional days at sea with nothing to do, cabin confinement are just some of the unknowns, undesirable outcomes and the real prospects we may have to look forward to, not to ignore the potential for quarantine upon arrival in the USA are just a few of the uncertainties. No, we don’t want to expose ourselves to this. After the way Celebrity has ignored our safety on this trip, we do not want to sail with them again.

 

Celebrity’s “offer” to cancel and their restrictive FCC is ridiculous, they took our payment in less than 10 seconds, then to cancel and being issued a FCC, which is their only offer, after drastically changing the itinerary, it takes a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks or longer to get the FCC issued, which comes with numerous restrictions on our hard earned money. This is not a cancellation on a whim, there is a declared world emergency, and there is a level 4 CDC advisory in place. Celebrity keeps saying they are monitoring the WHO and CDC, what else do they need to take action as the virus cases continue to spread?

 

Main points in my original post, Celebrity’s late reaction to the epidemic/pandemic and their lack of timely responsiveness, especially sending the February 1^st sailing on a “Mystery” cruise is irresponsible. Even when the sister company, RCC acted timely a week earlier, along with the fast spreading of the positive cases putting everyone at a very high risk, Celebrity did not. Should we decide to continue on with this adventure, is more than certain that our original and revised itineraries will change. Definitely in the future, we will plan a China trip, for now we are definitely out, all the best to those that brave this sailings and unknown circumstances.

 

There were reports as early as January 11^th that this virus was a serious concern.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/01/china-releases-genetic-data-new-coronavirus-now-deadly

There is plenty of early precedence on this type of infection and how unpredictable it is. Please don’t compare it to the Flu, two different animals. It is the cruise line’s business to be on top of world news, especially epidemics/pandemics, which make the cruise industry and their passengers especially susceptible to these threats. This is not their first rodeo.

 

Making the necessary route changes is also the cruise line’s business, they are experts and do this every day. Yes, it takes planning, but that is their job and the reason thousands of passengers place our trust in them. Celebrity has certainly disappointed many in the handling of this serious world emergency.

 

We are not novices, we’ve experienced canceled ports of call, re-routing and other inconveniences, and we took it in stride. To compare the current Corona Virus crisis to previous viruses outbreaks, is risky. This is a totally unprecedented situation and it should have been recognized and handled as such by Celebrity. The presentation of this virus is totally different, this was known early on. Compromised carriers can walk around for nearly two weeks and transmit the virus without anyone being aware, as the new cases on the Diamond princes has shown, anyone is at risk.  

 

It was not my intent to force the Cruise Line to change itineraries with my initial post, in our opinion, all the Asia itineraries were at risk, as resent events are starting to confirm, we decided early not to take a risk. We simply asked for a fair alternative. We initially asked to be allowed to take an alternate cruise and Celebrity declined, stating we would forfeit the full fare, no credit. My TA and we made numerous attempts to reach out to Celebrity to appeal their decision, via phone and their customer service email, including escalation. We were still willing to sail an alternate route. Celebrity again, declined.

 

I wish nothing but the best for those still on these voyages, but I’m really concerned for their wellbeing. Celebrity can only protect us so much, to those that thank Celebrity for all their safety efforts I say: How can Celebrity protect us while we are in ports, on tours and exposed to an unknown contagion among the population or an infected passenger that boards without symptoms? Too many unknowns and risks.

 

The Chinese/Asian people are uber prolific travelers, as I can attest from my travels around the world. This population travels extensibly, especially throughout all of Asia, as well as other continents. It is not a farfetched assumption that the spread of this virus, that goes unnoticed for as much as 14 days, will get worse, before it gets better, sadly and unfortunately that is exactly what has happened. There is no doubt in our mind that this WILL get worse sooner than later. This was the motivation in my original post.

 

Just yesterday, two additional ports (Taiwan and Japan) on our 3/14/2020 itinerary have been impacted, either temporarily or permanently, all the passengers on this cruise had to scramble to make flight changes at a considerable extra cost for some. We tried to stay positive and really wanted to go on this cruise. We checked airfares, it was more than double the original fare we booked over 3 months ago, the $500.00/pp Celebrity offered would hardly cover the expense. Oh yes, and we would still be flying, voluntarily into a very high risk area.

 

Celebrity only cares about their bottom line and salvaging as much as they can, I get it, and it’s a business. We don’t buy their line “we care about our passengers and crew. A passenger currently on the February 1, 2020 cruise reported that the crew disembarking in Hong Kong on the previous cruise were allowed back on the ship against notices made by Celebrity. Later this passenger also was told that there was a “flu situation amongst the crew” that “Celebrity is handling. Not reassuring at all. Unfortunately, I’m sure this is not the end of this.

 

Side note: Sadly, Dr. Li Wenliang, who first reported the virus, has died on February 5^th, 2020. Don’t believe the China reported statistics for a second, they are grossly understated and likely to be exponentially higher than those published.

 

If you are hateful or judgmental, or want to provide unconfirmed information, please reconsider responding. I will not reply.

 

[wrk2cruise]

Maybe it's time to close this thread as the OP has made their conclusions.   There are other threads currently on Corona Virus.