Just got a call from Celebrity about an itinerary change on my NYE cruise.

[Stockjock]

The sailing was a 5 night New Year's Eve cruise out of Miami, sailing to Key West and Cozumel.  Made arrangements for/a resort day pass in Cozumel, flight arrangements, hotel, bought the GF new dresses, bought myself a new tuxedo jacket, etc.  Pretty sure there are penalties for cancelling the flights and the hotel is non-refundable.

Now, with roughly 2 months to go, they're changing it to a 4 night going to Nassau, Bahamas and Bimini, Bahamas.  As an accommodation, they are offering $50 per person OBC.  They'll give me until Nov. 4th to cancel without penalty.  If the price drops, I'll get that lower price.  If not, pricing will remain the same.

I like Cozumel and had not been to Key West.  So even though this was a short sailing, I was looking forward to those ports of call.  Truth be known, I've never been impressed with the Bahamas.

Can't say I'm happy about the change, the relatively short timing, or what I consider to be a pretty stingy offer of $50 per person OBC.  Do I have a right to be annoyed?  Strongly leaning towards cancellation, which would be a total bummer.  

Edited October 21, 2021 by Stockjock

[kwokpot]

While it's disappointing, the way I see it is cruising during the pandemic requires you to be flexible and understand that things can change on a dime. 

[FlorenceItaly]

I understand your disappointment!  Were you going to Nachi Cocom in Cozumel?  We have been many times.  We love Key West.  In fact, we are spending over three weeks in the Keys next month.  We will go into Key West a few times.  I remember the dress your got your gf.  Let us know what you decide.  We do love cruising during the holidays as the ship is beautifully decorated.

[kearney]

If you purchased travel insurance, you might want to contact them to see if any of these additional charges are covered...

[Stockjock]

12 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

I understand your disappointment!  Were you going to Nachi Cocom in Cozumel?  We have been many times.  We love Key West.  In fact, we are spending over three weeks in the Keys next month.  We will go into Key West a few times.  I remember the dress your got your gf.  Let us know what you decide.  We do love cruising during the holidays as the ship is beautifully decorated.

We were going to do Mister Sanchos, which has a good price for an all-inclusive day pass and has a really nice beach and resort.  

I do note that the sailing 4 days prior to this one goes to Cozumel and back to Miami, so hard to figure why they had to change the duration of this cruise and ditch both scheduled ports.  Total bummer, imo.  We hadn't really gotten out in the better part of 2 years due to covid and were really looking forward to this.

Edited October 21, 2021 by Stockjock

[chemmo]

Totally understand your disappointment but in present circumstances…

 

Our view at present is that if we are fit and well and can cruise anywhere life is good…

 

If you are going to board feeling that you have not got what you wanted out of a cruise then cancel but if you can board with the attitude of enjoying what you have then go ahead…

 

We recently did a staycation cruise around the UK…Not on our agenda but it was that or nothing for us this year and we thoroughly enjoyed! Not exactly the weather we wanted or the ports of call but we were at sea and someone else was doing the cooking and cleaning and the premium beverage package was very nice!

[mom says]

Certainly you have a right to be annoyed, especially with the loss of a day on the cruise. As for the ports, during COVID you just can't count on ports being unchanged. You just can't.  And Key West as a port stop is very much up in the air with lawsuits and challenges ongoing. 

 

I guess you'll have to weigh the pros and cons. If you decide to go, then you don't need to fret about hotel and air cancellation fees, just change your return flight, and enjoy a special night's  festivities at sea.

[hylasgirl]

33 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

The sailing was a 5 night New Year's Eve cruise out of Miami, sailing to Key West and Cozumel.  Made arrangements for/a resort day pass in Cozumel, flight arrangements, hotel, bought the GF new dresses, bought myself a new tuxedo jacket, etc.  Pretty sure there are penalties for cancelling the flights and the hotel is non-refundable.

Now, with roughly 2 months to go, they're changing it to a 4 night going to Nassau, Bahamas and Bimini, Bahamas.  As an accommodation, they are offering $50 per person OBC.  They'll give me until Nov. 4th to cancel without penalty.  If the price drops, I'll get that lower price.  If not, pricing will remain the same.

I like Cozumel and had not been to Key West.  So even though this was a short sailing, I was looking forward to those ports of call.  Truth be known, I've never been impressed with the Bahamas.

Can't say I'm happy about the change, the relatively short timing, or what I consider to be a pretty stingy offer of $50 per person OBC.  Do I have a right to be annoyed?  Strongly leaning towards cancellation, which would be a total bummer.  

 

You definitely have the right to be annoyed.  I'm on the Reflection which we alllll know there will be no Grand Cayman and still it's listed... and still they are selling it as such.  I already have 3 sea days, so if they change GC and Jamaica (which isn't open either yet as I know of?) and all I get are more sea days, I will cancel.  As much as I want to cruise, I don't want to vacation on the ship completely. I'm on the Christmas sailing so it was SPENDY! 

[Stockjock]

30 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

I remember the dress your got your gf. 

FWIW, in addition to that dress, I also bought her 3 more, including one just this morning.  

The first is Guess, the second Vera Wang and the third Betsey Johnson.  It's not as if she doesn't have any decent dresses, but since we've been cooped up so long, it's NYE, and because it's her birthday (Nov) and mine (Dec), I wanted to get her some nice dresses to wear for NYE and to dinner.

Edited October 21, 2021 by Stockjock

[FlorenceItaly]

They are beautiful.  She will be stunning.  You have a great fashion sense!

[tompeter]

You might want to look around to see if there are other 5 night cruises on other lines that match your dates. It might be less hassle than cancelling flights/hotels, etc.

[Stockjock]

7 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

They are beautiful.  She will be stunning.  You have a great fashion sense!

Thanks.

[Stockjock]

4 minutes ago, tompeter said:

You might want to look around to see if there are other 5 night cruises on other lines that match your dates. It might be less hassle than cancelling flights/hotels, etc.

I will be doing this, thx.

[hcat]

What a great bf.. love the dresses!

I say try and make it work..u should be able to cancel the day pass. Also try to get X to fork over a bit more OBC so you can get your gf  a nice b day gift!

 

And then do an extra day in Miami  pre or post cruise to fit the airline tix.  Prices will be higher if u re book.  There are great hotels, ( book asap) restaurants and clubs in Miami...party all night long!

 

Nasau has paradise Island..casino  etc.  Never been to Bimini.

 

Life has been rough this  past yr..so go with the flow and enjoy your cruise.!

Let us know the outcome..

[Zigster]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

The sailing was a 5 night New Year's Eve cruise out of Miami, sailing to Key West and Cozumel.  Made arrangements for/a resort day pass in Cozumel, flight arrangements, hotel, bought the GF new dresses, bought myself a new tuxedo jacket, etc.  Pretty sure there are penalties for cancelling the flights and the hotel is non-refundable.

Now, with roughly 2 months to go, they're changing it to a 4 night going to Nassau, Bahamas and Bimini, Bahamas.  As an accommodation, they are offering $50 per person OBC.  They'll give me until Nov. 4th to cancel without penalty.  If the price drops, I'll get that lower price.  If not, pricing will remain the same.

I like Cozumel and had not been to Key West.  So even though this was a short sailing, I was looking forward to those ports of call.  Truth be known, I've never been impressed with the Bahamas.

Can't say I'm happy about the change, the relatively short timing, or what I consider to be a pretty stingy offer of $50 per person OBC.  Do I have a right to be annoyed?  Strongly leaning towards cancellation, which would be a total bummer.  

We're on this sailing as well as the 4 day prior. Haven't received a phone call or email. Are they saying the cruise will end on 1/3 rather than 1/4?  I understand the port issues but not understanding why they just didn't have another sea day?  

[Covepointcruiser]

Cancl, you won’t be happy with the cruise.   Have not heard of any airlines not offering no charge cancellations or changes.    During the pandemic I would never reserve a room at a hotel that could not be canceled.   It might be a little less expensive to book a room with charges when you cancel, it is certainly unwise to do so.

[cruisestitch]

What are they doing with the extra night?

[JRG]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

Can't say I'm happy about the change, the relatively short timing, or what I consider to be a pretty stingy offer of $50 per person OBC.  Do I have a right to be annoyed?  Strongly leaning towards cancellation, which would be a total bummer.

 

It's been "Pump it and Dump it" for the cruiselines approach to Caribbean sailings since they restarted,  everybody is caught up in the same "Value Trap" too.

 

I'd put a "Trailing Stop" on this cruise if it gets worse and do what we did...

 

book a week at Aviara Carlsbad or try Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Coast.

 

Both are really nice resorts in good locations and you won't get the Q-tip up the nose.

 

 

[Algebralovr]

My understanding is that Summit is heading into a dock for some work, so that may be why the change.  After that, she is doing a bunch of charters through some time in March.  Since they are charters, they are pretty big bucks, so it makes more sense to cancel a night of an under priced and under sold cruise right before the dock, than to have an issue with the charter.

[Stockjock]

26 minutes ago, Zigster said:

We're on this sailing as well as the 4 day prior. Haven't received a phone call or email. Are they saying the cruise will end on 1/3 rather than 1/4?  I understand the port issues but not understanding why they just didn't have another sea day?  

Yes 

[garyl62]

So just to make sure I understand the compensation they are offering:

 

Is the total offer $50 OBC?  Or are they giving you a prorated refund of one day, pulse the $50 OBC.  Your post seems like just the $50, but I've never heard of them removing a day and not prorating the fare to reflect a comparable reduction. 

 

It's been about 4 years, but we had a 5 day Summit trip shortened to 4 due to maintenance work being performed and we received a refund equal to one day, plus some OBC for the inconvenience.  

[Guppy99]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

While it's disappointing, the way I see it is cruising during the pandemic requires you to be flexible and understand that things can change on a dime. 

Ditto that. Disappointment with any changes due to covid  or weather is for passenger safety. I've been on a ship that had to cut short 7 hours in Bermuda so that we could outrun a hurricane, and you wouldn't believe how long the line was down at guest services protesting the change!  People were holding Celebrity responsible for the weather!!

 

The financial compensation will be after they have adjusted for the refunded port fees where you not going balanced by the new port fees for where you are going (in addition to fuel adjustments etc).  Not as simple as just prorating by 1 day. 

[Guppy99]

1 hour ago, hylasgirl said:

 

You definitely have the right to be annoyed.  I'm on the Reflection which we alllll know there will be no Grand Cayman and still it's listed... and still they are selling it as such.  I already have 3 sea days, so if they change GC and Jamaica (which isn't open either yet as I know of?) and all I get are more sea days, I will cancel.  As much as I want to cruise, I don't want to vacation on the ship completely. I'm on the Christmas sailing so it was SPENDY! 

so cancel.  Absurd to be annoyed about something no one has any control over and is for your safety.

[Guppy99]

35 minutes ago, Algebralovr said:

My understanding is that Summit is heading into a dock for some work, so that may be why the change.  After that, she is doing a bunch of charters through some time in March.  Since they are charters, they are pretty big bucks, so it makes more sense to cancel a night of an under priced and under sold cruise right before the dock, than to have an issue with the charter.

If that is the case, then the offer for the change should be much greater.  That's just a convenience issue for Celebrity.

[STLCRUISIN]

I'm sorry you are going through this and I understand your disappointment.  We booked Mr. Sanchos when we were doing a Mardi Gras cruise in February of this year which was cancelled for obvious reasons. Mr. Sanchos refunded our money within a week so you should have no problem.