Celebrity's Handling of their Millennium Sailing is SHAMEFUL!

[kiwicruisers51]

Celebrity took our money today for 21 April cruise 3 hours before they posted the cancellations!!!!!

[cruiserchuck]

1 minute ago, kiwicruisers51 said:

Celebrity took our money today for 21 April cruise 3 hours before they posted the cancellations!!!!!

 

And now you should get it all back, plus a 25% future cruise credit.  Assuming you did not buy nonrefundable airline tickets, you may be better off than if they did not take your money.

[kiwicruisers51]

1 minute ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

And now you should get it all back, plus a 25% future cruise credit.  Assuming you did not buy nonrefundable airline tickets, you may be better off than if they did not take your money.

We booked the Celebrity cruise around Japan and thought it may not be affected.  Our NCL cruise from Singapore to Tokyo has already been cancelled.  The first leg of our cruise which was ending in Singapore is now ending in Greece.  What a mess!!!!

[cruiserchuck]

5 minutes ago, kiwicruisers51 said:

We booked the Celebrity cruise around Japan and thought it may not be affected.  Our NCL cruise from Singapore to Tokyo has already been cancelled.  The first leg of our cruise which was ending in Singapore is now ending in Greece.  What a mess!!!!

 

We almost booked the May transpacific cruise last week.  However, I wanted to wait and see how the Coronavirus issues played out.  If we had booked, I guess we would have received a future cruise certificate.  One thing I learned from following the posts here is that there are real benefits to buying the air from Celebrity.

[Mark_T]

12 hours ago, nomad098 said:

 

I have queried Mr Calder on this as the UK Ministry of Justice, the EU and even ABTA consider a cruise an and of it's self a package holiday regardless of whether flights were purchased

 

I'm not sure there is actually any 'news' in that link. The reason that a full refund was denied at the time it was asked for was stated to be that the TA had not yet received confirmation from the cruise line that the cruise had been affected.

 

Once that confirmation had been received I'm sure the refund would have been processed...

[nomad098]

13 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

 

I'm not sure there is actually any 'news' in that link. The reason that a full refund was denied at the time it was asked for was stated to be that the TA had not yet received confirmation from the cruise line that the cruise had been affected.

 

Once that confirmation had been received I'm sure the refund would have been processed...

 

Hi Mark_T 

 

The reason I contacted Mr Calder was that he stated a package was flights and a cruise bought in a single transaction.

 

I asked Mr Calder to re-look into this as the UK/EU authorities and ABTA consider a cruise of it's self a package without the need to book flights.

 

Mr Calder has looked into this and adjusted the story in the column accordingly but cannot alter the twitter post.

 

Mr Calder has also told me this morning that when ABTA office opens today he will be contacting them in regards to any help for those in the UK who booked their cruise in the US. 

 

Personally I think this is a non starter, if you book in the US you are bound by US terms and conditions.

 

If a UK/EU booking is significantly altered according to the rules, it does not matter how far in advanced you should be offered the choice to accept, an alternative or a full refund of monies paid.

[Mark_T]

1 minute ago, nomad098 said:

The reason I contacted Mr Calder was that he stated a package was flights and a cruise bought in a single transaction.

 

I asked Mr Calder to re-look into this as the UK/EU authorities and ABTA consider a cruise of it's self a package without the need to book flights.

 

That makes more sense then since the link had already been altered by the time I read it.

 

There is a related point though, the original comment was correct as far as protection for the flights goes though.

 

If you want to be sure that the flights are covered in the same way as the cruise you do need to book them both as a single transaction or you risk only having full protection for the cruise, not the flights.

 

Re protection for those booking in the USA I tend to agree, this is unlikely to succeed, but to the extent that some USA based TA's do clearly promote and offer their services directly to UK/EU based customers, there is at least some scope to consider that they have opened themselves up to the impact of UK consumer law...

[fragilek]

34 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

That makes more sense then since the link had already been altered by the time I read it.

 

There is a related point though, the original comment was correct as far as protection for the flights goes though.

 

If you want to be sure that the flights are covered in the same way as the cruise you do need to book them both as a single transaction or you risk only having full protection for the cruise, not the flights.

 

Re protection for those booking in the USA I tend to agree, this is unlikely to succeed, but to the extent that some USA based TA's do clearly promote and offer their services directly to UK/EU based customers, there is at least some scope to consider that they have opened themselves up to the impact of UK consumer law...

I wouldn't think that would apply as you sign up to the terms and conditions for the area you book through so I don't think you would be able to try and align any issues with different terms and conditions

[nomad098]

8 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

That makes more sense then since the link had already been altered by the time I read it.

 

There is a related point though, the original comment was correct as far as protection for the flights goes though.

 

If you want to be sure that the flights are covered in the same way as the cruise you do need to book them both as a single transaction or you risk only having full protection for the cruise, not the flights.

 

Re protection for those booking in the USA I tend to agree, this is unlikely to succeed, but to the extent that some USA based TA's do clearly promote and offer their services directly to UK/EU based customers, there is at least some scope to consider that they have opened themselves up to the impact of UK consumer law...

 

I fully understand and agree with what you are saying.

 

I suppose the problems start when you book a cruise like the Millennium around Asia it's generally a trip of a life time and booked well in advance of flights being released.

 

An example of this, we booked a family of 5 to sail out of New Orleans in April 2020 back in Jan 2019 the cost of adding flights at the time was between £3500 - £4500  with limited flexibility in dates and times. We decided to book cruise only and managed to book flights separately in May 2019 for £1800 booking the dates and times we wanted to travel. By this time the cruise pricing had gone up considerable. We made sure we have good insurance, booked using a credit card which provides protection and use major airlines to offset the risk.

 

I would imagine many of those travelling out to Asia with Celebrity faced similar quandary on whether to book it all together for better security or separately to give themselves more flexibility.

 

 

[Mark_T]

11 minutes ago, fragilek said:

I wouldn't think that would apply as you sign up to the terms and conditions for the area you book through so I don't think you would be able to try and align any issues with different terms and conditions

 

I'm not suggesting it is an easy 'win' to go after, and where a UK consumer has taken steps to appear to be a USA resident purchaser to bypass restrictions on location when making a reservation they would seem to be completely outside the scope of UK/EU regulations, but... there are a few US based TA's that actively advertise to UK residents, provide UK toll-free numbers etc.

 

These are the ones who may have crossed the line and rendered themselves subject to UK/EU regulations by effectively carrying on their business in the UK/EU.

 

Still not saying it is an easy reach, but I can at least see there is scope to look into it further.

 

The result though may be that the US TA's shut the door on any future sales outside their territory, so this may be a case of 'be careful what you wish for...'

[nomad098]

5 minutes ago, fragilek said:

I wouldn't think that would apply as you sign up to the terms and conditions for the area you book through so I don't think you would be able to try and align any issues with different terms and conditions

 

I am not sure as on some of the American travel agents sites that target UK/EU cruisers they have a links to specific market terms and conditions.

 

On one American TA site they have links to UK, EU, CH (Swiss) and North American terms and conditions depending on your home address 

 

Personally I have recently been using an American TA with an ABTA number here in the UK, this gives me American prices, generally cheaper, I still have to pay non refundable deposits but get the legal protections.

[JBare]

39 minutes ago, nomad098 said:

I suppose the problems start when you book a cruise like the Millennium around Asia it's generally a trip of a life time and booked well in advance of flights being released.

 

Its true that flights are generally released only 9 months or so in advance but if you book directly with Celebrity they allow the addition of the flights at a later date and it still counts as a single booking and they issue the relevant ATOL ABTA certificates. We have done this many times, for example adding British Airways and Emirates flights months after initial booking. I should add that in general their prices have pretty much matched the cost of booking with the airline direct, but not always.

 

Edited February 13, 2020 by JBare

[maviss]

On 1/31/2020 at 10:10 PM, BelloMundo said:

 

I confirmed the information by checking several sources and personal experience. Celebrity has refused to enter into any kind of option other than "forfeit your payment", period.

 

On you other point, no they wont miss us two, the truth is that there is ample discontent among the 8 or so Asia cruises, equaling thousands that are very angry with Celebrity and have vowed not to sail with them again, no, they wont miss us 2, but they are affecting thousands and THAT they will notice. 

We disembarked celebrity constellation on the 17th of January in Singapore. We were not told about the virus. I know that perhaps there was little we could do about it, but more vulnerable people ie those with health problems and the elderly may have wanted to take extra precautions. As it turned out, a man who flew back to the U.K. on the same day as us had the virus and went on to infect other people in France, and the U.K.. There were hundreds of Chinese people pouring into Singapore for the new year celebrations right up to the day we left.

i did notice a sign in the airport that stated passengers would have their temperatures checked and not knowing about the virus found that a bit strange. I believe the virus will get more widespread before things get better. I would think by now Celebrity will be assessing the situation and rearranging itinerary’s, after all they don’t want a ship stuck at a port with a quarantine order slapped on them. That would cost far more than simply changing the itinerary.

 

[mpk]

On 2/12/2020 at 3:38 PM, Maria63 said:

We were on the Feb 1 sailing and booked b2b for the 15th. This info is more or less exactly what the crew members onboard Millennium told us initially around the 8th Feb, though Celebrity then officially denied the info re cancellations on the roll calls and insisted that the 15th sailing will go ahead.

 

On 2/12/2020 at 4:03 PM, Ack53 said:

My exact thoughts when we got our email tonight! Exactly what you were told on board? Even down to where the ship was relocating too! 😏

 

What adds to the oddity is how every single one of the cancellations say "Up until today we did not intend ..."    A little unnatural to say that, and the other cruise lines don't feel like they have to say that.

[Maykitten]

Bet the other cruise lines have not been as generous!! It is totally beyond the company’s control & they have done everything they can to accommodate guests. H&A were sailing around the seas at least 2 days after Millennium & had to go to Cambodia.. not easy to get home from!! Lots of rumours on board & im sure they tried to wait until they knew more details before making final announcements!  The situation in SE Asia is NOT the fault of Celebrity or any other cruise line! Think yourself lucky you aren’t in the situation of those in the Princess ship in Japan!

[netbill1]

I am really happy with the way Celebrity have treated us. Ok we only had 10 days notice but everything that has happened was not their fault. They have been really generous with a full refund and 50% off another cruise. 

[cindivan]

On 2/15/2020 at 5:16 AM, netbill1 said:

I am really happy with the way Celebrity have treated us. Ok we only had 10 days notice but everything that has happened was not their fault. They have been really generous with a full refund and 50% off another cruise. 

I’m glad it worked our for you and hopefully celebrity will figure out the equitable situation for 2-1 would-be cruisers. We had less than 36 hours notice (while in Singapore) when we were told we would not be able to board because we had a 2 hour layover in HK. We were told we will get a full refund. Haven’t seen all of it yet. But no FCC. 

[wrk2cruise]

1 hour ago, cindivan said:

I’m glad it worked our for you and hopefully celebrity will figure out the equitable situation for 2-1 would-be cruisers. We had less than 36 hours notice (while in Singapore) when we were told we would not be able to board because we had a 2 hour layover in HK. We were told we will get a full refund. Haven’t seen all of it yet. But no FCC. 

 

I believe you will get your full refund but I doubt you will get an additional FCC as you weren't on the sailing.   Yes not your fault but I'm sure that's where they will draw the line.   Trivial I know but you won't get Captains Club points either.

[cruiserchuck]

Princess Cruises has announced that it will give some compensation (yet to be determined) to those who cancelled Asia cruises on or after January 20, if the cruises were later cancelled by Princess.  It will be interesting to see if Celebrity does something similar.

 

 

 

[jo-b]

9 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

Princess Cruises has announced that it will give some compensation (yet to be determined) to those who cancelled Asia cruises on or after January 20, if the cruises were later cancelled by Princess.  It will be interesting to see if Celebrity does something similar.

 

 

 

But the refunds being given for cruisers on current cruises that have been curtailed are not as generous as Celebrity. We have friends on Majestic they are getting 50% refund as they have done 50% of the cruise plus a 50% FCC. On the 1st Feb Millie cruise we had done 10 out of 15 days and got 100% refund.

 

The differences in approach between cruise lines are quite interesting. Not sure it still stands but at one point Oceania were saying they going to  deny boarding if you had a high temperature, with no refund at all

 

 

[waterbug123]

On 2/7/2020 at 10:26 AM, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Yes, it can be frustrating but eventually it all gets sorted out.

 

As it now has.  I'm not going all the way back through all 18 pages, but I'm certain that early on in the thread, multiple posters advised the OP that if she would just take a deep breath and have some patience, it would all work out.  X had their hands full dealing with the most imminent cruises, while hers was still a month and a half away.  That just wasn't good enough for her though.

 

On 2/8/2020 at 9:30 PM, mayleeman said:

Who here wants to explain to me why the Chiefs should not only refund my money but also pay for my wasted air fare and hotel from the first trip?

 

It's a risk you take any time you book an event like that.  Games get rescheduled, concerts get rescheduled, etc. You buy the ticket, you assume the risk.

 

On 2/9/2020 at 5:48 AM, ipeeinthepool said:

It's still amazing to me that the OP recognizes that this entire chain of events is not Celebrities fault but he/she expects Celebrity to bear the entire financial Impact.  

 

She said numerous times that Celebrity was only looking out for their own best interests.  The irony is that SHE was likewise only looking out for HER best interests. 

 

On 2/9/2020 at 6:24 AM, Pushka said:

Fault or blame doesn’t come into it. There is a contract to provide a service. For whatever reason that service can not be provided. (Assuming it is cancelled by the cruiseline). So regardless of what caused that default, the contract has been breached. Refund. 

 

Read the fine print.  The itinerary can be changed.

 

On 2/10/2020 at 3:41 AM, MarkusToe said:

To be honest, i do not understand you American guys: 

If a coffee is too hot you're running to court ,

 

 

Hyperbole much?  No, we do not all run to court because of hot coffee; many of us understand personal responsibility.  You're talking about one famous case, not a cultural norm.  And that said, it was proven that the coffee in question was far hotter than it was supposed to be so the case was not as frivolous as many wanted to believe it initially was.

 

On 2/12/2020 at 5:32 PM, modem9 said:

Celebrity has now cancelled all the Millennium Asia cruises through March.  See the announcement on the Celebrity website under the Coronavirus link at the top left of their home page.

 

Well look at that!  Given enough time to deal with the most immediate cruises, and gather information on the evolving situation, Celebrity did what many guessed they would do all along.  But my money says the OP won't come back to say, "ok, you guys were right and I was wrong, I should have just given it a little more time."

[The_Big_M]

2 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

 

 

Well look at that!  Given enough time to deal with the most immediate cruises, and gather information on the evolving situation, Celebrity did what many guessed they would do all along.  But my money says the OP won't come back to say, "ok, you guys were right and I was wrong, I should have just given it a little more time."

 

You mean like how Celebrity fesses up and admits they were wrong when they don't communicate changes to individuals with bookings before making cancellations, or when they change conditions onboard without notice...? 

 

Yeah, thought not.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, The_Big_M said:

 

You mean like how Celebrity fesses up and admits they were wrong when they don't communicate changes to individuals with bookings before making cancellations, or when they change conditions onboard without notice...? 

 

Yeah, thought not.

Does Celebrity come to Cruise Critic to make ridiculous rants?

 

Yeah, thought not.

[intr3pid]

2 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Does Celebrity come to Cruise Critic to make ridiculous rants?

Does Celebrity come to CruiseCritic to read rants?  Most definitely.

 

Could the apologists' 18-page bumping of this thread all but seal the deal that Celebrity should act and possibly over-compensate?  Yup.

 

Is there any real downside to ranting anonymously on a public forum?   You decide.

Edited February 19, 2020 by intr3pid

[Pushka]

Fine print tends to become a little irrelevant if a country’s Consumer Protection Legislation is violated.