Disappointment in Celebrity passing on information

[Decpl]

Is anyone else a little disappointed in the information coming from Celebrity? We have an Alaska Cruise tour booked in which we fly out on July 31st.

They said cruising canceled till August 1st. Are they really planing on sending a empty ship up to Seward Alaska, What about getting on and off ships . 

They changing itineraries? Will be be able to fly home from Vancouver? Social distancing plans, Shows, casinos, bars, what about dining? We don't

cruise to be locked in room and not mingle about !! Not to say about mask issue . Tried call Celebrity yesterday and phone finally died after being on

hold for 1 1/4 hours.  Our Travel agent hasn't gotten back to us and not a happy camper with so little info.

 

[TeeRick]

3 minutes ago, Decpl said:

Is anyone else a little disappointed in the information coming from Celebrity? We have an Alaska Cruise tour booked in which we fly out on July 31st.

They said cruising canceled till August 1st. Are they really planing on sending a empty ship up to Seward Alaska, What about getting on and off ships . 

They changing itineraries? Will be be able to fly home from Vancouver? Social distancing plans, Shows, casinos, bars, what about dining? We don't

cruise to be locked in room and not mingle about !! Not to say about mask issue . Tried call Celebrity yesterday and phone finally died after being on

hold for 1 1/4 hours.  Our Travel agent hasn't gotten back to us and not a happy camper with so little info.

 

I'm not sure what more Celebrity can really say about this.  Cruise ports in British Columbia and Alaska will dictate when these cruises will be allowed again.  Most people don't expect an Alaska cruise season in 2020.  It is highly likely your early August Alaska cruise will be cancelled and announced in the next round by Celebrity.  Sorry not a great answer but just being realistic.  Can you reschedule your Alaska cruise for 2021?

[Decpl]

1 minute ago, TeeRick said:

I'm not sure what more Celebrity can really say about this.  Cruise ports in British Columbia and Alaska will dictate when these cruises will be allowed again.  Most people don't expect an Alaska cruise season in 2020.  It is highly likely your early August Alaska cruise will be cancelled and announced in the next round by Celebrity.  Sorry not a great answer but just being realistic.  Can you reschedule your Alaska cruise for 2021?

No 2021 not an option, had a RV trip planned  out west to National Parks next year to take up most of prime cruising time for Alaska. Well they can let out information on dining, shows and the emarkation and dis-embarkation plans. But I feel if they do that more and more people will cancel

And thats why they don't want any info out there. They are holding a lot of peoples money and believe me, they have all the plans and senerios but its in their interest not to release it!

[TeeRick]

2 minutes ago, Decpl said:

No 2021 not an option, had a RV trip planned  out west to National Parks next year to take up most of prime cruising time for Alaska. Well they can let out information on dining, shows and the emarkation and dis-embarkation plans. But I feel if they do that more and more people will cancel

And thats why they don't want any info out there. They are holding a lot of peoples money and believe me, they have all the plans and senerios but its in their interest not to release it!

Not really sure at all what you are referring to here.  Alaska 2021 is definitely a cruising option.

[Decpl]

Just now, TeeRick said:

Not really sure at all what you are referring to here.  Alaska 2021 is definitely a cruising option.

I am referring to I will not be around for the Alaska season for cruising, will be touring out west for most of the season, Been to Alaska in Early Just before and had snow and cold, Later was our choice. Sorry if I was not clearer.

[ggo85]

The fact all cruises are canceled through July 31 doesn't mean they will start sailing Aug. 1  It means the earliest any cruise would start is Aug. 1.  I strongly suspect that there will be additional cancellations -- perhaps months worth.  Cruise lines first have to take into account the restrictions of certain states and countries -- both in terms of what is open, the availability of flights, ability to cross borders, etc.  That is beyond their control.  

 

Like many businesses, they're taking it one step at a time.  But if I were you, I'd make other plans for this summer.

 

 

[drew69]

They already know that your cruise will not sail.  They are merely holding off canceling cruises and also taking new reservations for cruises they know won't sail in order to hold as much money as possible.

[NinaBlue22]

Celebrity has been extending cancellations basically a month at a time, the latest round is through 7/31, but I’m sure next month they will announce the next group that will almost certainly include your cruise.

 

I understand your frustration, especially when your cruise just misses their arbitrary cut off date. We had a June 13th planned cruise out of Rome that just missed the last round (cut off date was 6/11)  It was finally officially cancelled by Celebrity this week. We expected it would be cancelled and planned accordingly.

Edited May 22, 2020 by NinaBlue22

[cruisestitch]

It should be your travel agent’s job to be communicating with Celebrity.  Put them in the case, but don’t expect him or her to know any more than what is printed on Celebrity’s website.  
 

as people here have already said, cancellations are coming in waves.  Any cruise to Alaska This summer is highly doubtful.

[jelayne]

Currently cruise lines can’t sail from the US until the No Sail Oder is lifted by the CDC.  That order is set to expire 7/15 but can be extended. The cruise lines through the CLIA are working on plans to meet the requirements in order to have the No Sail order lifted.   So that is a huge factor outside of Celebrity’s control.

 

BC has said they intend to ban cruise ship for all of 2020, However last I read ( and these things change daily) the Canadian  Prime Minister has not imposted this ban for all of 2020 but they could happen. 

 

Then there is the question of which ports will open and will passengers be allowed to disembark.  
 

So at this point there isn’t much concrete to communicate.  I’m sure they would like to salvage some of the Alaska season  as well as getting some of the a Caribbean sailings going and have the Asia season get started in the fall but until that all in place and No Sail lifted not much they can say. 
 

[Fouremco]

The cruise is simply not going to happen, but cancellation by Celebrity won't be announced until round 4 of the suspensions, probably sometime around the third week of June.

 

The major problem is BC, where there are multiple hurdles. At the federal level, the ports are closed until July 1st, but that is to be reassessed and very possibly extended. Also at the federal level is the closure of the Canada-US border for non-essential travel until at least June 21st. At the provincial level, there are further problems for the cruise lines, and even if the federal restrictions were to be lifted by the end of July, BC's "restart plan" does not allow for non-essential international travel until September or later during the last of its four reopening phases. Simply put, while there has been some minor mention of perhaps allowing cruise ships to enter BC ports after the federal ban is terminated, they would only be permitted to refuel and reprovision. Crew and passengers would not be allowed to disembark. 

 

I don't think that even the most optimistic cruiser would consider Alaska to be a go this year, and I'm quite sure that Celebrity knows that full well. But as has been mentioned here and in multiple threads, Celebrity is cancelling its cruises in phases and August cancellations won't be released until the next round. In the mean time, don't expect to receive anything from Celebrity beyond the usual pre-cruise emails. And maybe your luggage tags, as many of us have received for cancelled cruises!

[Bruin Steve]

This is just the current state of things...for everybody...

We were just in this last group of people waiting it out...Our July 5 and July 12 Med cruises were in limbo during this whole thing up until two days ago when we finally got word they were cancelled.  Up to that point, we had no concrete idea and Celebrity really couldn't tell us anything.  Like all of us, they would love for a vaccine to be unveiled tomorrow and all restrictions lifted...
But, like us, they can't read the future...They don't want to get too far ahead of themselves...just in case the CAN start sailing again soon...BUT, as the dates of our cruises get closer and closer, we can all see, with more and more confidence, that they likely won't happen...For us, the clues, as things got nearer...aside from the fact that the pandemic is still out of control (no matter the wishes of some politicians who want to "reopen" without any advancement in the medical treatment of the thing), we could see signs like 1)  Our flights kept getting cancelled, 2)  The ships are way out of position and crew hasn't been recalled and 3)  ports and countries still "closed"...

 

So, despite spending a couple of months reading that cruises had only been cancelled through June 11, we sort of knew that the extension would be coming soon.  So, it became not a case of our looking forward to the cruise, rather anticipating what the options would be for resolution:  Refund, FCC or shift to the following year.  We cancelled our pre-and post-cruise reservations and waited it out.  Now, we are just trying to work out details on moving the trip to 2021.  For us, this is problematic as the same itinerary we had is not even offered in 2021.  For Alaska, though, the itineraries rarely change, so you should be able to move this cruise anytime.  If the risk is great, which I fear it is, you probably wouldn't want to go now anyway.  Better to delay a year than to get sick and maybe die, right?  Or spread it to others close to you?  I, personally, had 3 cousins on a trip to Italy in January who returned home with Covid-19.  Thankfully, all 3 have recovered--but it was all touch-and-go for a while...and, trust me, I would not wish the experience they had on any of us...

[Bruin Steve]

14 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

..don't expect to receive anything from Celebrity...maybe your luggage tags, as many of us have received for cancelled cruises!

 

You got luggage tags?  I fell just short of being able to order mine.  I sort of wanted them as a souvenir of the ill-fated voyage...

I'm still thinking, when the cruise would have set sail, of posting a phantom review of the cruise, live from onboard, here on Cruise Critic!  😁

[phoenix_dream]

Not withstanding the truth of other comments already posted on this thread, I agree with the OP as a general statement that Celebrity's communication has been very, very lacking.  As have their business practices for that matter.  I know this is changing daily (literally) and I know there are many things they don't know or have not been decided yet.  But at the same time, I'm sure they have a lot of information about things they are just choosing not to share so that they can generate more income.  That is taking advantage of people and not very ethical IMHO.  Celebrity, we understand you can't know everything right now, but for heavens sakes tell us what you do know!

 

You have to know that Alaska cruises will not be sailing this year.  Stop taking reservations for them, even if you do not officially cancel them all yet due to system overload issues.  Just tell us that!  Most of us would understand.  You must have some ideas nailed down for what you plan to do to be able to sail.  Even though it may change, there must be a plan being made.  Share some of the details for us!  In all likelihood, cruises in the near future (however that is defined) will be at less than full capacity.  I'm sure you've estimated what that is.  Stop taking reservations for cruises this year that already exceed that capacity!  Once you need to start bumping people, they'll be a lot more angry than had they just not been able to book that cruise in the first place.  This is especially true for people who took FCC and placed it on cruises later this year.  

 

Good management in a crisis situation communicates, communicates, communicates.  Don't send me emails with cooking videos.  Send me an email that actually gives me some real, honest to goodness information.  If something is tentative, just say so.  Give us some info, anything, to let us know more about what is happening behind the scenes.  Don't tell me you're too busy - you have plenty of PR people on staff - this is their job (not to mention the CEO)

[Prost Seattle]

I’ve never stepped on board a Celebrity ship, our September sailing was to be our first, but our TA thought we’d be a good fit for the cruise line and we’d enjoy ourselves.  I will say that I’m finding it difficult to cut some slack to celebrity when their patterns apparently is to hoard other people’s money.  Prior to the pandemic I was having difficulty with the X website, and many on this board informed me that the X IT left much to be desired.  I believe this lack of investment is biting them now in crisis.  If I were the management team, I’d send out an email/letter to all stakeholder (those with money in their accounts) and say “We are swamped with this unprecedented event.  We only have X amount of people working on refunds, so that’s why it’s taking so long” 

 

But what I’m wondering is if they just prioritize all new bookings, and if there is time left over at the end of a shift they can process a couple of refunds.  The way this company has been operating doesn’t feel honorable, but it’s predictable for big business.  I just don’t see myself giving RCL any money ever again after this ordeal.  

[yorky]

2 minutes ago, Prost Seattle said:

I’ve never stepped on board a Celebrity ship, our September sailing was to be our first, but our TA thought we’d be a good fit for the cruise line and we’d enjoy ourselves.  I will say that I’m finding it difficult to cut some slack to celebrity when their patterns apparently is to hoard other people’s money.  Prior to the pandemic I was having difficulty with the X website, and many on this board informed me that the X IT left much to be desired.  I believe this lack of investment is biting them now in crisis.  If I were the management team, I’d send out an email/letter to all stakeholder (those with money in their accounts) and say “We are swamped with this unprecedented event.  We only have X amount of people working on refunds, so that’s why it’s taking so long” 

 

But what I’m wondering is if they just prioritize all new bookings, and if there is time left over at the end of a shift they can process a couple of refunds.  The way this company has been operating doesn’t feel honorable, but it’s predictable for big business.  I just don’t see myself giving RCL any money ever again after this ordeal.  

The sad thing is when you actually get on board it’s a fantastic product, still our favourite cruise line.

[Prost Seattle]

I’m sure it is, prior to CV-19 you folks had me very excited about my cruise.  It sounds like the employees on the ship do a remarkable job, but they sure don’t get the necessary support from corporate.  

[Turtles06]

56 minutes ago, Prost Seattle said:

I will say that I’m finding it difficult to cut some slack to celebrity when their patterns apparently is to hoard other people’s money.

In this regard, they don’t seem to be any different than any other large cruise line. Visit the HAL and NCL boards, for example, and you will see zillions of comments about delayed refunds, cruises still open for booking in the near future that are never going to sail, etc. 

 

It’s getting almost impossible to tell one cruise line forum from another right now, the complaints are all so similar. 

[TeeRick]

You are correct.  No differences between cruise lines right now.  The communication coming from all of them is not the best.  It frequently seems random and conflicted.  The problem from their standpoint is that they have to set an actual end date for cessation of their operations. For a number of very good reasons it cannot be left open, including raising capital and in particular keeping their employees.   It would be even worse if they simply said "indefinite date in the future" although most of us know that is actually the truth.  But how many here would be happy with that?  It throws all cruises into question in 2020-2022.  They are in a no-win situation.  We are in a no-win situation.  Frustration is high on both sides.  So now it is July 31.  We know that is not a firm date.  Just the next target date.

[TeeRick]

23 hours ago, Decpl said:

I am referring to I will not be around for the Alaska season for cruising, will be touring out west for most of the season, Been to Alaska in Early Just before and had snow and cold, Later was our choice. Sorry if I was not clearer.

Ok thanks for clarifying.  You are probably better off in an RV touring the west anyway!  

[Bo1953]

23 hours ago, Decpl said:

No 2021 not an option, had a RV trip planned  out west to National Parks next year to take up most of prime cruising time for Alaska. Well they can let out information on dining, shows and the emarkation and dis-embarkation plans. But I feel if they do that more and more people will cancel

And thats why they don't want any info out there. They are holding a lot of peoples money and believe me, they have all the plans and senerios but its in their interest not to release it!

Okay, using your distress about X having "...all the plans and scenarios..." do you propose they release all of them (plans and scenarios) and allow all affected passengers vote on which one they like best?

 

Then when the scenarios do not go as planned, they come up with more for passengers to vote on again until they can really sail without a hitch?

 

Maybe you can offer (an)other option(s) for X and other cruise lines can do to maximize the outflow of 'accurate' info to the public?

 

I Am sure this will be very welcomed, by us all...

 

bon voyage

[Decpl]

43 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Okay, using your distress about X having "...all the plans and scenarios..." do you propose they release all of them (plans and scenarios) and allow all affected passengers vote on which one they like best?

 

Then when the scenarios do not go as planned, they come up with more for passengers to vote on again until they can really sail without a hitch?

 

Maybe you can offer (an)other option(s) for X and other cruise lines can do to maximize the outflow of 'accurate' info to the public?

 

I Am sure this will be very welcomed, by us all...

 

bon voyage

Not at all Mr Bo, but it would be nice if they come out and say, cruising  with begin at 50% capacity or what ever they decide , Maybe, we will need to close casinos until a certain date, How about masks with they be required  in public areas. Make a call on tendered ports,? You must know they have plans like these in the works, just let the people know so they can make a decision if they want to follow through with their cruise. Its a shame, they cancel afterfinal payments are do. Seems like Princess and Holland, came out with a plan.

[yorky]

3 minutes ago, Decpl said:

Not at all Mr Bo, but it would be nice if they come out and say, cruising  with begin at 50% capacity or what ever they decide , Maybe, we will need to close casinos until a certain date, How about masks with they be required  in public areas. Make a call on tendered ports,? You must know they have plans like these in the works, just let the people know so they can make a decision if they want to follow through with their cruise. Its a shame, they cancel afterfinal payments are do. Seems like Princess and Holland, came out with a plan.

Have any of the cruise lines actually disclosed exactly what will be put in place when they resume sailing ?

Edited May 23, 2020 by yorky

[phoenix_dream]

1 hour ago, Bo1953 said:

Okay, using your distress about X having "...all the plans and scenarios..." do you propose they release all of them (plans and scenarios) and allow all affected passengers vote on which one they like best?

 

Then when the scenarios do not go as planned, they come up with more for passengers to vote on again until they can really sail without a hitch?

 

Maybe you can offer (an)other option(s) for X and other cruise lines can do to maximize the outflow of 'accurate' info to the public?

 

I Am sure this will be very welcomed, by us all...

 

bon voyage

I usually agree with most everything you write (and love that you can take contentious disagreement and civilize it!) but this time we are thinking differently.  I certainly don't think all their plans are firm right now - how could they be of course.  But I can't believe they don't have some plans out there.  Before I retired I was a project manager/department manager for 30 years.  There was never a single time where I had all the info I needed at the beginning of a project to fully plan out every last detail - not once. But I had plans and I communicated those plans, and they were modified as they went along.  I see no reason the cruise lines can't do something similar.  I know they have to be careful what they release and how they do so, but there is certainly more information than what is being brought forth, and I think the primary reason for that is that they don't want people to really realize what cruising will actually look like for awhile which would scare off many people from booking.  

 

Consider also what other leaders are doing.  And I am not turning this into a political pro or con debate about the efficacy of the plan, but as an example, our governor has a specific plan all laid out in stages based on statistical factors.  When we meet the goals for one stage we move to the other.  That plan is periodically modified, but it is communicated on a regular basis.  Another example is some of the Las Vegas casinos - they communicated ideas they had about how casinos would be able to open and what type of changes they were anticipating.  There is absolutely no reason Celebrity cannot do something similar IMHO.   Perhaps not exactly as the OP suggests, but some kind of plan with some more details of what they are considering.  

Edited May 23, 2020 by phoenix_dream

[Decpl]

16 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

I usually agree with most everything you write (and love that you can take contentious disagreement and civilize it!) but this time we are thinking differently.  I certainly don't think all their plans are firm right now - how could they be of course.  But I can't believe they don't have some plans out there.  Before I retired I was a project manager/department manager for 30 years.  There was never a single time where I had all the info I needed at the beginning of a project to fully plan out every last detail - not once. But I had plans and I communicated those plans, and they were modified as they went along.  I see no reason the cruise lines can't do something similar.  I know they have to be careful what they release and how they do so, but there is certainly more information than what is being brought forth, and I think the primary reason for that is that they don't want people to really realize what cruising will actually look like for awhile which would scare off many people from booking.  

 

Consider also what other leaders are doing.  And I am not turning this into a political pro or con debate about the efficacy of the plan, but as an example, our governor has a specific plan all laid out in stages based on statistical factors.  When we meet the goals for one stage we move to the other.  That plan is periodically modified, but it is communicated on a regular basis.  Another example is some of the Las Vegas casinos - they communicated ideas they had about how casinos would be able to open and what type of changes they were anticipating.  There is absolutely no reason Celebrity cannot do something similar IMHO.   Perhaps not exactly as the OP suggests, but some kind of plan with some more details of what they are considering.  

Excellent point Phoenix, totally agree,  communication is the key!!