Celebrity's Handling of their Millennium Sailing is SHAMEFUL!

[jelayne]

15 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

The World Health Organization is evaluating information minute by minute. As is the CDC. It's safe to think that every country's equivalent is doing the same. Contingency plans are being placed, evaluated, re-evaluated, and altered as necessary on a frequent basis. A plane of Americans evacuated from China was re-routed on the way here to Southern California from Alaska, and passengers are now being quarantined a full two weeks, though this was not the original plan. 

 

Yet, Celebrity, certainly not a health organization, is supposed to predict the exact consequences of this emergency weeks in advance for one particular cruise, rather than dealing with the most immediate issues first?

 

I understand and respect the concern, but not the logic.

 

Hopefully the OP wisely purchased adequate travel insurance, as it is clear that nothing Celebrity does will be good enough. 

Well said!

[Arubalisa]

Sorry the honeymoon was ruined by the virus. #Rule 1 of cruising, NEVER book a cruise where you MUST visit a specific port. Unfortunately "stuff" happens. 

6. CANCELLATION, DEVIATION OR SUBSTITUTION BY CARRIER:
a) Carrier may for any reason at any time and without prior notice, cancel, advance, postpone
or deviate from any scheduled sailing, port of call, destination, lodging or any activity on or oa
the Vessel, or substitute another vessel or port of call, destination, lodging or activity. Except as
provided in Section 6(e) below, Carrier shall not be liable for any claim whatsoever by Passenger, 
e) In the event that a Cruise (or the cruise component of a CruiseTour) is canceled or terminated
early due to mechanical failures: 
https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/Celebrity-Cruise-Ticket-Contract.pdf

[txflood33]

31 minutes ago, Oville said:

This isn’t a popcorn topic Bo, sorry but it is a serious worldwide health problem.

 

this topic is not about a worldwide health problem

 

It's about a cruise line passenger irrationally shaking his/her fist at the sky because they are getting the exact results they expect due to a worldwide health problem. But make no mistake, this thread is not about the coronavirus

[Pushka]

38 minutes ago, Germancruiser said:

Oh my-  to much hysterie these days. All blown up by the eager press. Yes it is a worldwide health problem- but there more- much more. Here in Germany around 1000 people died of the influenze this season- not a single word in the press- until Corona came up- then it a got one sentence in a hysterical report about Corona!

As if X would get their passengers live in jeopardy - they cancel dangerous ports- and that is that! Should they cancel whole cruises? No- certainley not!

Hysteria maybe and we can all compare with influenza. But that isn’t the point right now. The issue is that decisions are being made by factors which are completely out of our control and which impact greatly on our ability to travel, whether or not we regard the cause as being overamped. 

[txflood33]

Nothing will make the OP satisfied here. They have been ranting and raving in the roll call since the concerns came up. They feel they should get a full refund and X is in no way obligated to do that. If I remember correctly, this cruise was going with a larger land vacation into China so I get why you would be upset. This would be an expensive trip by anyone's standards. I'm not sure why you wouldn't insure a trip of this cost.

 

X has already changed our itinerary....I'm on the same 3/14 cruise. I talked to X tonight. She told me they just got the email and emails will go out to passengers on Monday along with phone numbers to assist in rebooking air if booked through X.

 

I posted the itinerary she gave me in the roll call....Tokyo>Osaka>Kagoshima>Nagasaki>Busan>Jeju Island>Taipei>Danang>Singapore

 

4 of these ports of call were on the original cruise. 

[Oville]

15 minutes ago, txflood33 said:

 

this topic is not about a worldwide health problem

 

It's about a cruise line passenger irrationally shaking his/her fist at the sky because they are getting the exact results they expect due to a worldwide health problem. But make no mistake, this thread is not about the coronavirus

But my response was to someone making it a popcorn 🍿 moment and it is not. 

 

 

[txflood33]

1 minute ago, Oville said:

But my response was to someone making it a popcorn 🍿 moment and it is not. 

 

 

 

this thread is the textbook definition of a popcorn thread

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, txflood33 said:

 

this thread is the textbook definition of a popcorn thread

You got it!  Bo said it was a popcorn topic and it definitely is... the OP’s concern was about his/her perceived treatment by X.

[Want2Cruise 701]

Just chiming in so I haven't read all of the posts except for the OP.  Celebrity is monitoring the situation very closely.  They have cancelled all sailings to Hong Kong and China through Mid February with refund.  I'm sure if the situation still warrants, they will cancel future sailings.  I know its frustrating to be in a state of flux not knowing plus all the planning to date for your cruise, but it seems Celebrity is doing all they can at this time.  It's not like anyone including the cruise line could predict the outbreak.  Good luck.

[intr3pid]

While the OP may have vented too much too fast, it's clear most posters here don't quite understand the issue either.  The "wait and see" approach works only if the ship is making port stops in China/HK - but the problem is with the cruises sailing out of HK.  

 

All cruise lines should change all departures (or at least those in the PIF timeframe) away from China/HK - and they should announce it rightaway.  Otherwise, you are asking guests to show up in HK until a week or two before the sailing - all the while they may still have a choice to re-route to Singapore.  

 

There is no reason to delay these itinerary modifications.  China/HK won't magically be virus-free in the next three months.

[Bo1953]

5 hours ago, Oville said:

This isn’t a popcorn topic Bo, sorry but it is a serious worldwide health problem.

O - I Am so sorry if I offended you or anyone else.

 

I know the virus is quite serious for many, including the OP, yet there is a quite 'civil' discussion going on elsewhere here on the X sub-forum, which was not started with histrionics and accusations.

 

I believe that the histrionics similar to the OP's here will not be found there, IMO, yes a few light-hearted and off-topic comments to be sure but good information about what X and other cruise lines are doing to address the situation.

 

I trust were I to have such concerns about a 'world-wide' health or political or ???? issue, that posters would let me know that I was over reacting to a situation whereby such statements and/or demands, as used, were uncalled for and that I needed to get a grip and work through the system for resolution.

 

It is clear that others believed likewise, as such my comment.

 

I do apologize for any offense to sensibilities my comment may have caused, to be sure.

 

I do try not to contribute to the escalation of inflammatory posts, yet sometimes it just happens and I do come back to apologize, when called on it.

 

Even the title of the thread called for a comment, IMO, to wit it was pointed out that the OP even took the same approach in their RC. What are we to think?

 

There was never any subsequent posts by the OP for input as to what they could do or needed to do or even an apology for just wanting to rant.

 

Thank you and bon voyage

Edited February 1, 2020 by Bo1953

[heidikay]

8 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Understood, does their travel insurance and/or credit card insurance cover this type of instance or not?

 

Long way to travel from home without it, as you say, '...not a typical Caribbean cruise..' for most, except for the most of us who do travel to other parts of the world for cruises, which can be typical.

 

bon voyage

 

They bought insurance so they could cancel for any reason with a 75 percent refund.   

[heidikay]

8 hours ago, jelayne said:

I’m sorry that you daughters honeymoon hasn’t worked out as they had planned and that Halong Bay has been changed to other Vietnam cities.  Celebrity is offering to cover $500 p p in airline change fees, and the airlines hopefully will be flexible in allowing changes.  
I hope they have a wonderful wedding and go on their honeymoon with the revised itinerary and have a lifetime of good memories. 

Thank you,  That is very kind.  I'm sure they will have a great honeymoon.  Just not exactly like they planned and with the stress of making all these last minute changes and not knowing what exactly what is happening.  I keep thinking thankfully they weren't on the 2/1 sailing.

 

Thank goodness they already had their wonderful wedding last month.  I can't imagine the stress of dealing with last minute wedding planning and all the changes to this honeymoon.  OH MY!

[heidikay]

8 hours ago, Alsmez said:

 

Vent all you like, but directing your ire at the cruise line is totally irrational. Celebrity had nothing to do with the outbreak and they are doing all they can to provide their customers with safe alternatives or financial compensation.

 

The cruise line is NOT doing all they can.  I'm not suggesting they should. I get Celebrity is a business and this is a difficult situation.  But offering full refunds would certainly be more than future cruise credit that must be used in one year.  Even extending the cruise credit for two years would be more generous.  

 

 

[hcat]

Very unfortunate situation for cruisers and travelers in gen to certain places.  Many have had Semesters abroad cancelled, visiting students from China cannot enroll in foreign universities, businesses affected including airline operations, health care providers......so many plans in upheaval....etc  Def seems worse than the Zika virus situation we don't hear much about anymore, but had many similar issues in a smaller scale.

 

However, this thread is falling into a pattern of several where unhappy, disappointed and  those with legitimate issues keep it going .....on and on.   Hope to hear  the outcome, eventually.

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, heidikay said:

 

They bought insurance so they could cancel for any reason with a 75 percent refund.   

A great investment, to be sure, just in case they decide it is not worth it due to missing a desired port.

 

I know often times many people choose sailings which hit ports they really, really, really want to see.

 

Hopefully things will change by the time they are going and the port will be available, again.

 

Hopefully their credit card will cover the 25% difference, but still ahead with 75% IMO, still a lot of money for most newly weds to loose.

 

Good luck and congrats to them.

 

bon voyage

[twins_to_alaska]

Agree with comment if place you really want to see you shouldn't rely on cruise but instead travel directly there. This is after having two ports cancelled due to wind issues at last minute on same cruise. It was disappointing but Celebrity scrambled for an alternate port and added activities to the added sea day.

Edited February 1, 2020 by twins_to_alaska

[TeeRick]

This is a worldwide rapidly evolving situation.  It changes almost on a daily basis.  Why would Celebrity do anything with currently booked cruises until they understand the situation, consequences, expert recommendations, etc?  Acting too early without all of the information might lead to incorrect decisions.  By the way it will be the parent company RCC LTD that will likely make the decisions for all of their impacted cruise lines and cruises, not just Celebrity alone.  Really bad things happen in this world that are unexpected all the time.  Why do some have to react by creating artificial villains?  I'm sure the entire cruise industry is very worried about corona virus.  If you don't believe that they are socially conscious because of your mistrust of everything corporate, then believe that they are worried about impact on profits in 2020.  I know those with booked cruises in impacted areas are very nervous and some are frustrated.  Very difficult situation.

[Fouremco]

8 hours ago, intr3pid said:

While the OP may have vented too much too fast, it's clear most posters here don't quite understand the issue either...

 

All cruise lines should change all departures - and they should announce it rightaway... 

 

There is no reason to delay these itinerary modifications.  

I would suggest that most posters here have a good understanding of the issue and of the complexity of determining and implementing the best of many imperfect courses of action. To say that there is no reason to delay changes demonstrates a lack of understanding of the rapidly changing situation and tremendous amount of work entailed in effecting change.

[Bo1953]

5 hours ago, heidikay said:

 

The cruise line is NOT doing all they can.  I'm not suggesting they should. I get Celebrity is a business and this is a difficult situation.  But offering full refunds would certainly be more than future cruise credit that must be used in one year.  Even extending the cruise credit for two years would be more generous. 

h - I believe that X is offering a full refund and/or FCC pending meeting certain conditions and thresholds for a few 'near term' departures and will roll out additional conditions/thresholds going forward for each sailing as they figure out the best approach.

 

Which, at this moment, is all they can and need be compelled to do, IMO.

 

I Am sure that they know and understand that this process will make many passengers nervous and upset - to be clear, cruise lines have been through this type of situation before and will again in the future.

 

All cruise lines understand and know what is on the line in these situations and as such will not rush to judgement or quick solutions which are not in the passengers, crew and their best interests... sailing by sailing while the situation is evaluated daily.

 

I have rarely seen or heard of any cruise line giving FCC for more than one (1) year from the date of sailing, two (2) years would be very generous and very unusual.

 

good luck and bon voyage

[C-Dragons]

9 hours ago, intr3pid said:

While the OP may have vented too much too fast, it's clear most posters here don't quite understand the issue either.  The "wait and see" approach works only if the ship is making port stops in China/HK - but the problem is with the cruises sailing out of HK.  

 

All cruise lines should change all departures (or at least those in the PIF timeframe) away from China/HK - and they should announce it rightaway.  Otherwise, you are asking guests to show up in HK until a week or two before the sailing - all the while they may still have a choice to re-route to Singapore.  

 

There is no reason to delay these itinerary modifications.  China/HK won't magically be virus-free in the next three months.

I am sure that all cruise lines have been working as diligently and as quickly as they can to make port changes. That is not an easy task, I'm sure, when you consider that cruise line itineraries are planned out at least 2 years in advance, and how many ships now have to be rerouted to alternate ports for an unknown period of time.  IMO, the cruise lines are not delaying the modifications, this is a big problem, not just affecting the passengers. Some changes have been announced for immediate departures and others will follow accordingly.

Edited February 1, 2020 by C-Dragons

[jtfnow]

13 hours ago, txflood33 said:

Nothing will make the OP satisfied here. They have been ranting and raving in the roll call since the concerns came up. They feel they should get a full refund and X is in no way obligated to do that. If I remember correctly, this cruise was going with a larger land vacation into China so I get why you would be upset. This would be an expensive trip by anyone's standards. I'm not sure why you wouldn't insure a trip of this cost.

 

X has already changed our itinerary....I'm on the same 3/14 cruise. I talked to X tonight. She told me they just got the email and emails will go out to passengers on Monday along with phone numbers to assist in rebooking air if booked through X.

 

I posted the itinerary she gave me in the roll call....Tokyo>Osaka>Kagoshima>Nagasaki>Busan>Jeju Island>Taipei>Danang>Singapore

 

4 of these ports of call were on the original cruise. 

That's new information I have not seen anywhere else. Thank you so much for posting.  Now I am waiting to see what they do with the planned sailing on 3/28.

[heidikay]

1 hour ago, Bo1953 said:

h - I believe that X is offering a full refund and/or FCC pending meeting certain conditions and thresholds for a few 'near term' departures and will roll out additional conditions/thresholds going forward for each sailing as they figure out the best approach.

 

Which, at this moment, is all they can and need be compelled to do, IMO.

 

I Am sure that they know and understand that this process will make many passengers nervous and upset - to be clear, cruise lines have been through this type of situation before and will again in the future.

 

All cruise lines understand and know what is on the line in these situations and as such will not rush to judgement or quick solutions which are not in the passengers, crew and their best interests... sailing by sailing while the situation is evaluated daily.

 

I have rarely seen or heard of any cruise line giving FCC for more than one (1) year from the date of sailing, two (2) years would be very generous and very unusual.

 

good luck and bon voyage

I got a full refund for a cruise and a FCC good for two years from Carnival so it isn’t that unusual for me.  It is my only experience.  But that is what Carnival did for me. 

 

 

But I’ve been following the roll calls and even those that are choosing FCC are in a difficult situation because this was an expensive cruise and they have to use all the credit on one cruise.  And different people are hearing different things.  Celebrity is not explaining this clearly.  So even what I wrote above might not be accurate.  

[Miaminice]

My 50 cents on the cost debate...

 

FYI: we are on the 02/29 sailing and have been notified of a massive itinerary change taking us to Tokyo instead of Hong Kong. Overnight in Bangkok is gone. And yet, we choose to stay on board and we will enjoy our cruise. I spent the day rearranging our independently booked flights which were non-refundable.

 

Celebrity reacted to something beyond their influence. They also gave everyone involved the choice to go ahead or to cancel.

 

Despite the fact that it’s everyone’s own choice to book flights with them (and be on the safe side) or to take the risk and book independently, they offer $ 500 without any legal or moral obligation to do so.
 

Same goes for tours, transfers etc. We all have and had the chance to book with them or take a risk and book independently.

 

Now Celebrity did what everyone demanded - take us out of harm’s way as far as possible. It doesn’t seem good enough. They can’t just call a harbor master and say: hey, we’ll show up with 2,500 friends tomorrow.
 

Plus the expectation all over the boards seems to be that X has to cover everyone’s full cost. Most people didn’t want to pay extra for the security but expect to be covered regardless... 

Edited February 1, 2020 by Miaminice

[Bo1953]

8 minutes ago, heidikay said:

I got a full refund for a cruise and a FCC good for two years from Carnival so it isn’t that unusual for me.  It is my only experience.  But that is what Carnival did for me. 

 

 

But I’ve been following the roll calls and even those that are choosing FCC are in a difficult situation because this was an expensive cruise and they have to use all the credit on one cruise.  And different people are hearing different things.  Celebrity is not explaining this clearly.  So even what I wrote above might not be accurate.  

Thank you for mentioning this.

 

Not to worry, I tend to believe that when the email from X is received it will explain what your specific options are.

 

If booked through a TA, they will be in a position to either explain OR get a definitive explanation for you and possibly negotiate something other on your behalf.

 

Good luck and Bon voyage